Hooked on skiing

SKI boots may be impossible to put on and take off, but many people in the UK are hooked on skiing and head for the pistes in the winter.

I was one of them this year, and have just returned from a skiing holiday in the French Alps.

France is most visited country by skiers from the UK, because it is so close to England. Austria is the next popular country with UK skiers.

Skiing holidays are popular because they offer people the chance to have a go at a sport, while giving them the opportunity to relax as well with the various après-ski (French for after ski) activities, such as having drinks.

One aspect you are almost guaranteed on such a holiday is clean alpine air, even if the sun is not always shinning.

Professional skiers may make the sport look easy on television, but I think skiing is a very technically taxing sport. However despite its difficulty it is addictive and it can be rewarding.

Although the pistes can be busy and potentially dangerous places because skiers and especially snowboarders can reach high speeds.

You have to be extra careful while on the slopes to stay in control, and not to bang into anyone. Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders can be on one slope at the same time, each vying for their own territory.

I remember going skiing with school, and a friend went down the mountain without stopping and broke his leg on the first day.