A friends ski holiday in the French Alps

A friend of a friend split up with his fiancee because she refused point blank to go skiing. Things hadn\'t got that bad for us, but it bothered me that my boyfriend had no interest in learning to ski. Ten years went by, and I was in danger of becoming a non-skier myself. Time to take drastic action: I signed us up for a Couples Ski Camp (fermeduciel.com) in the French Alps. The idea of the holiday is to spend the day skiing with others at your level, and meeting up with your more (or, as in my case, less) advanced partner for lunch. Evenings are spent together, staying with other couples in a luxury chalet. It\'s aimed at those who fancy time away à deux, but without being in each other\'s pockets all week and having nothing to talk about at dinner. My group of intermediate skiers had the benefit of a week\'s coaching from Régis, a ZigZag (zigzagski.com) ski instructor (and rather dishy Frenchman). He led us around the Grand Massif, a huge ski area between Geneva and Mont Blanc comprising five linked resorts – Samoëns, Les Carroz, Morillon, Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval and Flaine – and 265km of piste. We honed our technique over the first three days, taking advantage of the perfect conditions By Thursday snow clouds were gathering, so we seized the chance to tackle the Cascades before it was too late – a 14km run from Flaine to Sixt. It\'s only a blue, but its sheer length, plus the fact that it is narrow and icy in some places, made it feel like a real achievement. In the afternoon, on something of a roll, we skied down the most difficult red run in the area without a second thought, and even tried some off-piste action. It\'s lucky that we skied the Cascades when we did: on Friday, heavy snow meant that visibility was so poor it was all we could do to keep Régis in sight. The off-piste techniques from the previous day came in handy in such difficult conditions. After a cold, wet and slightly miserable day, the massage that was included as part of the couple\'s package was very welcome indeed. Likewise, Ferme du Ciel, the beautifully renovated farmhouse/chalet we were staying in just outside Samoëns, became an ever more welcoming refuge as the full days of skiing took their toll. We slipped into a decadent evening routine: hot tub and sauna; champagne and canapés; three-course meal; coffee and chocolates; stagger to bed.