We started at the top of Pleney with the “travelator” ski lift. I’m never confident of my ability to teach, not least because the last time I was in Morzine my travel companion found skiing to be a terrifying experience. However, Sjek was a fast learner and outgrew going up and down the beginner’s stretch quite quickly. It was time for more challenging stuff: Piste B (skipping the steep bits via Piste D).

The first descent was hard work — to be expected for a beginner — and so we stopped for some hot chocolate at the bottom. Then it was time to learn about chair-lifts, so up to the top again and across to the far end of Belvédère, returning down Piste N, Piste B all the way down.

I’ve never known a first-time-skier to go down Pleney Piste B twice in one day and then exclaim, “again! again!”. Up the chair lifts once more and Piste D, Piste D’ (I just love that mathematical notation of using a prime), and Piste B to the bottom. And then she still had enough beans to ask for a fourth descent: Piste D, Piste C, Piste D, and once again Piste B to finish.

I jokingly remarked that if she’s going to make this much progress in one day, Sjek would soon be going off-piste! But tomorrow she surely is going to hurt…