Well not quite, but at 5p does feel like it. I know Ryan Air does real cheap flights but they’ve always going to the wrong location when I need one. But when my old friend Jonathan Bradford said he’d booked some for a snowboarding trip to Italy it was hard to resist. With my boys on school holidays and snow reports looking good, it wasn’t long before we had a big group heading to the airport.

Jonathan was my first proper sponsor, and for sure there wouldn’t have been any records without his help. While time and circumstances may have changed, his support certainly hasn’t. Back in the day we taught each other to snowboard, but haven’t managed to get on the slops together for over ten years. I soon found out that things haven’t changed so much when we ended up off-piste with nowhere to go.

We had could the penultimate week of the season in Cervinia up the Aosta valley, its has a good mountain range with plenty of connecting lifts, and if that’s not enough just pop over the top and you’re boarding Zermatt in Switzerland and that stay’s open 365 days a year. Which ever side you board you’ll be captured by one of the worlds most famous mountains, the Matterhorn as it raises 4478 meters high.

The conditions proved to be perfect for our mix group of abilities; even the off piste was relatively safe going unless you wanted to push the boundaries. Then there was enough to keep even the hardiest of skier happy, just keep in mind it is glacier and crevasses are best avoided.

After four and a half days we were on our way back and with only one injury to the team, Steve hadn’t been alone in opting for a shirt rather than a jacket, but paid the price when he slipped on the steepest piste on the mountain, ouch…