Yes, I can ski.

Or maybe not.

Perched on top of the nursery slopes of the beautiful Val D'Isere resort in the French Alps a few short weeks later, I watch the other so-called 'beginner' of our group parallel-ski effortlessly to the bottom and I turn to my instructor, Eric, in panic. "I can't."

My confidence had begun to wane a few minutes earlier when I watched the others head off confidently for the challenging red slopes.

Then without warning the innocuous-looking ski lift nearly deposited me on my head and I had to be pulled to safety. Now, as I clamber to the starting-point, puffing and red-faced, and survey the Everest-esque descent of the nursery slope, I'm ready to go home.

But Eric Berthon, ex-world champion of mogul skiing, instructor with Top Ski school and my coach for the next five days is having none of it. "Yes, you can, we'll take it really slowly, " he says easily. "Just follow me." So I do.

"It's really important to trust your ski instructor, " Peter Hardy told me the night before we hit the slopes. "If you trust him, you'll do so much better." Hardy should know. As coauthor of The Great Skiing and Snowboarding Guide, he spends 18 weeks of the year travelling from resort to resort and he helped set up the Top Ski intensive ski clinics with the school's founder, Pat Zimmer.

But on a personal level, it was Zimmer who got Hardy skiing again after he was involved in a serious accident in 1995. Skiing off-piste with a group in France, he and a companion fell 600 feet and Hardy's leg was shattered in 17 places. He was lucky; his companion was killed. Zimmer, a French former international racer, was one of the first people to arrive at the hospital and he told Hardy bracingly, "When you ski again . . . not if . . . you will come to me and I will teach you to ski in an entirely new way so that you can conserve energy."

Zimmer founded Top Ski school in 1976 after a bitter court battle with the ESF, the state French ski school that at the time held the monopoly on ski training. The dispute made its way to the French High Court, but Zimmer, then aged just 24, won the case and Top Ski went on to become the very first independent ski school in the country.

So two years and a series of operations later, Hardy found himself on the slopes of Val D'Isere learning to ski from scratch, with the methods that make Top Ski so distinctive.

I am learning these methods now. Instead of a flurry of instructions, Eric is calm and soothing. Top Ski believe that skiing is as much about the mental aspect as it is the physical and I am encouraged to clear my mind, breathe in the cold air and feel the snow beneath my skis.

Then it's down to business. My poles are taken from me ("no, I need them!") and I follow Eric in a pathetic side-slip down the worst part of Everest. Then we're on easier ground and, bending my knees, I follow Eric at a quicker pace. It's a two-player game of followthe-leader: he turns, I turn, he touches one knee, I touch my knee and so on. Suddenly, keeping my balance is easier and I'm having fun. So is everyone else. In this, the first week of the season in Val D'Isere, there is an air of barely suppressed excitement as ski junkies arrive for their first fix of the winter. This little village exists almost entirely for its ski slopes and the population swells tenfold at this time of year as vast numbers of chalet staff, ski instructors and visitors arrive.

The village may have become increasingly anglicised in recent years but its appearance belies this as every building was restored to its original form using just wood, stone and slate for the 1992 Winter Olympics. The result is a charming and vibrant village set against the impressive backdrop of the towering Alps.

The spirit of apres-ski is also alive and well in Val D'Isere and there are dozens of bars and restaurants to choose from. Accommodation is in the form of chalets and hotels and Aspen Lodge, where we are staying, is a large chalet divided into several apartments. Here, there are live-out staff who tend to your every need with professionalism and friendliness.

This region is a haven for intermediate and advanced skiers, with a wealth of challenging mountain slopes. But beginners need not be tied to the bottom of the mountain as is often the case in other resorts. Unusually, there are several gentle slopes at high altitudes, allowing beginners to share the panoramic views of the neighbouring Mont Blanc.

Each day I am gaining confidence. Slowly, my fear at the top of each run is dissipating and every Everest is reduced to what it is: a challenging slope. Eric has taught me the skiing basics without having to define them; it's all in the movement and comes naturally after a few days. As he says: "just ski!" Now that I can, I'm dying to improve and it won't be another five years before I venture up those slopes again.

SKIING GUIDE 'The Great Skiing and Snowboarding Guide 2006' , by Peter and Felice Hardy A must for anyone planning a ski trip, this guide takes its readers through 6,000 resorts in 75 countries giving insider detail on where to ski this year.

The authors have spent half a lifetime collecting and updating information on what they consider the most important resorts. They've been up on the slopes, stayed in the hotels and dined in the restaurants and this is apparent from the detailed information in the guide. And they're not afraid to give their personal opinion either . . . on the good, and the not so good.

(Cadogan Guides, www. cadoganguides. com)

THE FACTS Getting there Ski clinic packages with Top Ski in Val D'Isere are available from Direct Ski with prices starting from 350. www. directski. ie/go/skiclinic Staying there VIP chalets offer a range of surprisingly affordable luxury chalets throughout Val D'Isere. Prices for Aspen Lodge which provides catered accommodation for six to 10 people start from 570 per person for a week including flights from London Gatwick and airport transfers. For extra luxury, Davos Chalet outside the village provides its eight occupants with four-poster beds, an outdoor hot tub and a chauffeured service to and from the slopes.

Prices start from 625 per person. Check out www. vip-chalets. com Eating out The Taverne D'Alsace does delicious traditional Alsatian dishes and has a spectacular wine list.

On the slopes, Bananas does a great hamburger as well as good Tex Mex dishes.

Pampering For aching muscles, give Pamper Off Piste (www. pamperoffpiste. com) a call.