Winter travel: Alpine skiing in the Portes du Soleil area of France and Switzerland

Then, with the finish line in sight, I overtook the final pair of skiers and snowboarders before the breaks kicked in.

At this point, I should point out that I wasn’t on my skis, or indeed on terra firma.

I had just ridden Fantasticable – a zip line which sets off above the French hamlet of Plaine-Dranse and zooms harnessed daredevils down to the bottom.

The trip to the Portes du Soleil area (en.portesdusoleil.com) in France and Switzerland was my first winter sports holiday in three years, so, as far my ski skills were more than a little rusty.

Nevertheless, I still managed to get around the pistes okay, and spent time doing a whole host of other winter activities.

After flying into Geneva, my first destination was the French town of Les Gets.

I spent the night in boutique hotel Chamois d’Or, enjoying a tasty late supper in its stunning new Indian restaurant Baaji.

The next morning, I picked up my skis, poles and boots from Berthet Sports, before hitting the slopes with Chrys from Les Gets’ tourist board.

We escaped between the fir trees to enjoy the pristine pistes on the Mon Chéry side of the town and views of the legendary Mont Blanc range.

Lunch on the mountain was a delicious baked Camembert at Le Vaffieu, before Chrys handed over the reins to Laury from Avoriaz tourism.

The town is considered by many to be the home of snowboarding in the Alps, and my room for the night was at the spectacular Hotel Mil8, adjacent to the Aquariaz tropical-themed waterpark.

After relaxing in the wellness area, I dined at Le Soir a la carte restaurant, and from there, I headed to a couple of the town’s bars.

The next day, I skied with Laury into Switzerland, eventually arriving in the Region Dents du Midi where I met up with Gabriel from the Champéry tourist office.

After a toasted cheese lunch at Café Le Nord, I checked into the Boutique Hotel Beau-Séjour & Spa, a charming century-old hotel with breathtaking views of the emblematic Dents-du-Midi.

On my penultimate day in Portes du Soleil, I tried two winter activities for the first time.

First up, Gabriel and I headed to the Sports Center Palladium De Champéry for a game of curling with Gaston, a 60-year veteran of the town’s curling club.

The last Swiss stop on the road to France, and the gateway to the Val d’Abondance, is Morgins

Here, I joined Patrick, a ski instructor, for an arduous two-hour hike and 600m climb around the ski touring tracks of Rando Parc.

After my exertions, I needed a place to rest my weary head, and Chez Jan La Pension in Morgins was just the ticket.

For dinner, I enjoyed a scallops and a crusted pork loin at Restaurant Le Di.vins a couple of blocks away.

Before flying back to the UK, I still had time for another day of adventure on the slopes as local ski instructor Bernard took me for a tour of the Châtel region.

Whether it’s snaking down blue or red runs, pushing stones on the ice, hiking up a mountain or flying down a zip line, my week in Portes du Soileil was full of excitement.

If the Olympics has made you crave for a winter holiday or inspired you to try skiing or snowboarding for the first time, make this French-Swiss paradise your first Portes of call.

Richard Jones stayed in four hotels during his trip – Chamois d'Or Hotel & Spa in Les Gets (chamois-dor-hotel.les-gets.hotels-fr.net), Hotel Mil8 in Avoriaz (hotelmil8.com), Boutique Hotel Beau-Séjour & Spa in Champéry (beausejour.ch), and Chez Jan La Pension de Morgins in Morgins (chezjan.com)