At first, to be quite honest, I could never quite appreciate the appeal of cross country skiing, having only briefly tuned in to see the epic exertions of Lycra-clad athletes on Eurosport one Saturday afternoon - from the comfort of my own armchair. I wondered whether a decade’s training might not be enough to get me to that level. Then I realised I was missing the point entirely!

Following a warm spring like feeling across many parts of the Alps I am pleased to report excellent snow conditions in Italy. We currently have our Italian Ski weekend running based in Val Ferret, in the the Aosta Valley. The depth of the pressed ski tracks is over a metre and the very COLD temperatures of -23 at night are making sure it stays around.