LOVE skiing. I am completely useless at it, but I find it great fun. Coming down the slopes I have all the grace of Douglas Bader on skis. That's probably doing a disservice to the legendary second world war flying ace - he may have had two wooden legs, but even he would have skied better than me. I don't care that small children take unnecessary pleasure in knocking me over and laughing at their handiwork as they ski past using a technique I could only dream of having. Skiing is still great fun.

Last winter, just to be different, I decided to see if the experience of skiing in America would be any different from my previous European trips. Word was that the instructors were actually helpful in the US. Maybe I would finally learn a way to stop that didn't involve throwing myself face first into a snow bank in order to stop me careering wildly down black slopes.

Utah, Vermont and Colorado may have world-renowned ski areas, but I went to New York. I admit that when you mention New York the first thing that comes to mind is Manhattan - the Empire State Building, Broadway, Central Park.

But there's a lot more to New York than Manhattan. This is a state that's twice the size of Ireland and which hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. And just two hours out of Manhattan are a couple of top-class ski areas - Hunter Mountain and Belleayre.

Both are in the Catskills, an area the New Yorkers used to go to during the summer to get away from the oppressive heat of the city.

There were summer camps dotted around the region (this is where the film Dirty Dancing was set) and it was particularly popular with I Jewish families. So much so that it became known as the Borscht Belt.

Those glory days are past now - the invention of air conditioning meant that New Yorkers could stay in their homes during the hot summers and the area went into something of a decline. But it is stunningly beautiful and still has a charm all of its own.

Hunter Mountain and Belleayre are about 20 minutes' drive from each other. Hunter is probably a bit more like what I am used to in a ski resort. There are two nearby towns, Hunter and Tannersville, and they turn into après ski hotspots in the evening. It's where the brave and the beautiful come up from the city at the weekends and it is said to be a colder version of the summertime Hamptons. It's the best known and busiest of all the ski spots in the area.

That said, on my visit there were no queues at the lifts and the slopes were pretty clear - generally a good thing when I am trying to make my way down. There are 53 trails, divided up pretty evenly among the various levels of difficulty, from the easy red slopes to the tough double black diamond.

My instructor was wonderful. For the first time someone actually told me where I was going wrong and how to correct it. This is in marked contrast to the European way which involves the instructor staring at you as you pick yourself off the ground in such a way that leaves you in no doubt but that you are a toad and a waste of his time and that if the world wasn't conspiring against him he would be on his country's Olympic team, and anyway is only interested in the 19-year-old blonde in the group.

On Hunter, by contrast, I was presented with a little note detailing all the things I needed to concentrate on in order to improve my technique at the end of each session. It may have been a long note but I began to feel confident for the first time on a pair of skis.

I was lucky in Belleayre too. Once they heard an Irish journalist was arriving I was invited to ski with the mountain superintendent, Tony Lanza. They obviously thought I could actually ski - the way I fell over as I was trying to put on my skis destroyed that illusion pretty quickly.

Tony was funny and great company and is a real star. He actually has his own radio show on the local station. He also pointed out my faults, gently corrected them, and thoroughly enjoyed the moment when a 10-year-old knocked me over. To make up for it he bought me a drink in a bar in the lodge at the bottom of the slopes. I obviously looked like I needed it. They may not be as challenging as the big resorts in Europe or western America, but both mountains had enough to keep me happy, and the tough runs are a challenge for everyone but the very best skiers.

There are some serious black and double black runs on both mountains, there are mogul fields and you can occasionally see Olympic ski maestro Bode Miller shoot past.

However, most of the snow is man-made, so there is no powder for those who like to go offpiste. As I have only ever skied off-piste by accident due to my rather dangerous inability to turn in time, this was quite a relief to me, but experienced skiers will find it restrictive. The bottom line is if you are an occasional skier you will love both mountains; if you are a serious skier who needs extreme challenges you should look elsewhere.

There are state-of-the-art lift systems on both mountains and the lack of queues - especially on Belleayre - will be welcomed by anyone fed up of the rather unpleasant scrums and scuffles that develop around the lifts in Europe.

What is particularly striking about both mountains is the level of customer-focused service. There are free crèche facilities. The ski area for kids on both mountains are particularly good and the spot where adults learn to ski has lots of helpful aids to get you going and build confidence.

In Belleayre you get to ski for free if it's your birthday. That's the kind of stuff that's missing in Europe, but should be part of any resort worth its salt.

I stayed close to Belleayre in the fabulous Emerson Resort & Spa, a rustic log structure sitting on the banks of the Espous Creek. My split-level room opened out onto the creek and had a fabulous open fire burning.

It also has the world's biggest kaleidoscope - you actually have to get inside it to see it in action. You must do it; it's like going on a massive acid trip without actually ingesting anything illegal. And while the hotel may have every luxury, the current exchange rate makes it fantastic value - midweek rates start at around Euro60 per person and that includes a Euro50 voucher for the spa!

Upstate New York is going through a culinary renaissance, so finding somewhere good to eat isn't a problem. The Catamount restaurant in the hotel was lovely and unfussy. There are actually a couple of places on both mountains that provide fine dining, although most of the stop-off points provide the usual gruel I was more used to from the Alpine resorts.

Away from the mountains the choices are bountiful. If you want eclectic, try the Last Chance Antiques and Cheese Café in Tannersville near Hunter Mountain. It has 300 beers, over 100 cheeses, serves fine food, has a gourmet shop and also sells antiques on the side.

If you want organic, you are spoilt for choice, as there are so many organic farms in the area and restaurants take pride in sourcing their food from one or more of them.

Where New York really wins out as a skiing destination is the choice of things to do off the slopes. This will be of particular interest to groups where one or two members are left cold (both figuratively and literally) by skiing.

In New York, needless to say, other attractions are not difficult to find, especially in the area around the Catskills. I skied every morning and in the afternoon I found other things to keep me entertained. The staff at Emerson Place can arrange guided hikes if you want to explore the surrounding area, and even get you some mountain bikes if you want to be particularly adventurous.

By the end of a morning's skiing I was in no shape to be quite so intrepid, so instead I stopped off at the home of Franklin D Roosevelt in Hyde Park where he and his wife Eleanor are buried. I also visited the CIA.

No, not that CIA - this one is the Culinary Institute of America, a veritable university for chefs where you can dine in one of the four restaurants.

I took a tour of West Point Military Academy and stayed at the wonderful Thayer Hotel in the grounds. I sampled wine in some of the wineries of the region. I toured Vassar College (ex students include Jackie Kennedy, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep) and the Lehman Loeb Art Center on the campus.

And that's the beauty of New York. In the space of a week I could climb the Empire State Building, visit galleries and museums and also spend five days' skiing (well, okay, falling) down the slopes of two mountains. I can't wait to go back.

GETTING THERE STAYING THERE »Ski passes for Hunter Mountain cost from $50 (about Euro37) per day; see www. huntermtn. com »Ski passes for Belleayre cost from $39 (about Euro30) per day; see www. belleayre. com »Aer Lingus flies to New York from Euro105; www. aerlingus. ie »For more information on Emerson Place see www. emersonplace. com