Last weekend's snowfall in Europe will have eased the nerves of anyone booked in for a festive skiing or snowboarding break. Earlier this month the resort of Wengen in central Switzerland was anxious about the sunny, snowless start to the winter season.
Wengen, a long-established, car-free resort in the Bernese Oberland region, is close to slopes around the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains. Just up the mountain is Kleine Scheidegg, where you can change trains onto the special Jungfrau Railway line. This tunnels into the Eiger and up to the Jungfraujoch at 11,333 feet: the highest railway station in Europe and a top tourist destination, with amazing views of the glacier.
The resort is gearing up for one of the biggest dates in its calendar. In the middle of January, Wengen will host the 75th International Lauberhorn ski race. This the oldest and, at 2.65 miles, the longest downhill ski race in the World Cup.
Our instructor Ruidi dismissed concerns about global warming. "I've been hearing for years and years how we are going to lose the snow, but it still comes," he said before pointing out a near-vertical part of the Eiger he had skied down.
I had been in this part of Switzerland in July, paragliding, mountain biking and white water rafting. The thought of my trip down the slopes was far scarier than all of that.
Thankfully, my first skiing lesson came in the shallower Kleine Scheidegg area, overlooked by the north face of the Eiger. Despite the lack of snow, some slopes were open, served by the snow machines.
Even as a non-skier, I soon realised that machine snow was not ideal. It tends to be a bit harder to fall on than real powder. But I was impressed by how realistic it was, and though I took more than a couple of tumbles, it wasn't so bad on the bum-bruising front.
Ruidi took us through some of the basics on the flat close to the start of a blue run. The run was apparently very easy. From my learner's perspective it looked terrifying.
We learned the snowplough basics and slid down a slight incline a few times. The cable car dispensed a steady flow of skiers and boarders around our baby steps. The more advanced skiers I spoke to were impressed at the slopes they had negotiated, despite the lack of powder. The boarders gave it the thumbs up.
If the first day was quite sedate, day two, on the slopes near Mürren, was terrifying. Mürren is close to the Schilthorn peak whose revolving restaurant was made famous by the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. We had a different instructor, Patrick, who was apparently unaware that there were two non-skiers under his watch. I was quickly being shepherded down a very big slope. Before long Patrick told me to grab hold of the back of his jacket and took me down a blue run with my skis inside his. I do not mind telling you that I have never held a man so tightly.
"Please! Easier on my ribs!" Patrick gasped, as I tightened my hands into a death grip.
Later, after crashing half a dozen times, but also almost managing a turn by myself, we reached the bottom of the run and I was told I had gone down part of a red run.
"Er, to be honest that was a bit irresponsible," another skier said, explaining it would normally be more suitable for someone to be skiing for seven days, rather than two, before going down there. It made my day.
When the Lauberhorn downhill race arrives in January, conditions should be very good. The weather reports on Skiclub.co.uk confirm that the snow situation has already really improved. The live webcam also shows that the Wengen area looks a lot more snowy and writers report "top notch" snow all over the Alps.
Having had a bit of a taste of learning to ski, I'd advise other novices to book at least a week and to make sure that in the early stages you have a very modest slope to practice on. What I really wanted was a little tiny slope that I could just go down again and again by myself to build confidence by practicing stopping, the basic turn and sliding with control. Wengen has some very good nursery slopes - when there is snow - and there are plenty of beginner and intermediate runs for when you start to find your feet.
Way to go
Swiss International Air Lines offers daily flights from London Heathrow, London City, Birmingham and Manchester to Zurich. Fares start from £86rtn (including all taxes).
Mark stayed in the four star Hotel Regina in Wengen which offers a seven-nights package with breakfast and dinner and a six-day ski pass from £813 per person in high season.
More information
My Switzerland weather reports
'On the rocks: the grim forecast for winter sports as global warming increases' - Guardian, December 3, 2004
Lauberhorn race and more on the 2005 World Cup
Jungfraujoch - Tope of Europe
Schilthorn railways: getting around by train.
