FIND YOUR SKI LEGS

JOSIE CLARKE takes the chance to finally master the slopes in Solden, Austria and finds a spot to learn in luxury

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I LOVE my children dearly but they are seldom more annoying than when they're talking about skiing; how much they love hurling themselves down black runs, before immediately retelling the story of the time even our ski instructor took to calling me Mum, followed by "Hurry up, Mum," and then, unfortunately, "Where's Mum?

It's all very well being kids who learned how to ski young it took my kids about three hours, while I've never quite mastered it. So when the chance came to leave them and their overconfidence behind and go back to basics, I grabbed it.

Our destination is Solden, situated in Austria's Otztal Valley, and the beautiful Das Central, Solden's family-run fivestar hotel. The resort itself sits at 1,377 metres but the ski area reaches an impressive 3,340 metres - making it one of the highest skiable regions in Austria. This pretty much guarantees snow from October through to May.

Arriving in mid-December well before the school holidays, the slopes offer pristine conditions with barely a child in sight.

The resort's Giggijoch gondola transports us from the base station in the centre of Solden to 2,283 metres - a popular meeting point for ski schools and a base for lunchtime gatherings - in just eight minutes.

We meet our instructor, Leena, from the Solden-Hochsolden Ski School, who reminds us skiing is supposed to be fun, before taking us right back to basics - perfecting snow ploughs, stops and early turns on the gentlest of slopes before progressing us to the actual learner area.