A spill can mean serious injury or worse, and, in my case, I probably would have been evacuated by helicopter if it hadn't been for a scrub tree that caught my skis before I turned myself into a runaway projectile.
A companion had to ski below me and plant his skis beneath mine so my edges had something to grip. By using my poles the way I was taught in the Poconos, I righted myself and we completed the run. What could have been a tragedy ended up being another fireside ski tale.
The Alps offer some of the most varied and challenging skiing in the world and, now that lift tickets at the trendier locations in Colorado have broken the $50-a-day barrier, a week in Austria or Switzerland can also compete on price.
And if your budget doesn't allow you to pamper yourself in some of the world's most luxurious hotels, there are plenty of moderate-priced accommodations at or near all of the big-name ski resorts. Here you can still schuss down the same slopes that play host to World Cup events. What follows is a rundown of some Alps ski areas.
FRANCE
For sheer high-altitude gonzo madness, France is the only place to go. The skiing is above the tree line, and the major ski areas are linked, so you can cross as many as three mountain ranges in a day and still be back in your hotel for dinner. A week will not be enough to exhaust what the larger areas have to offer. The French have also taken great care to plan ski area development so that the number of beds does not exceed lift capacity.
Places to consider. My first trip to France involved a week's stay at Lac de Tignes in 1978. We stayed up all night during our drive from Germany in a VW bus without heat, arrived half-frozen just after sunrise, tossed our suitcases into a dormitory-style hostel that charged us about $10 U.S. and skied on adrenaline the entire day.
