We flew from all over the UK to Geneva for this first La Tania week of the year.

Geneva was very warm, and the Alps were also warmer than usual after good falls of snow early in the season.

We wondered what the snow would be like.... and lapped up the news that more snow was expected this week!

As usual, we were to stay at Chalet Nicole, owned by Family Friendly Skiing - a small chalet company in la Tania.

We were welcomed at the chalet by Eve and Orlagh, our chalet hostesses who will cook for us every day but one.

Everyone was tired after their early flights, so, after settling into our rooms, sorting out skis and boots, having a good dinner at the chalet, we sat around chatting in front of the log burning stove, then mostly headed to bed early.

Blue sky to start with, then the cloud started rolling in.

The women in Ski school were picked up by minibus and delivered to where the ski school met in Courchevel 1850m - making it easy for us to all meet up later for lunch...

The rest of us headed down to the bottom of the red run then took the La Tania bubble up to Col de la Loze.

The snow was warm but the skiing was good, and we had a great day - skiing above Courchevel 1850m on some lovely runs, stopping for a mid morning coffee, then heading over to 1650m for a couple of runs before lunch.

We skied together for a while, then split into two smaller groups of similar ability.

For a late lunch we all met up at L'Arc en Ciel restaurant at the bottom of the Vizelle lift - an easy place for the 'improvers' to meet up with us after their ski school.

Cloud came over at one point, but then the sky cleared and we ate our lunch in the sun.

In the afternoon we skied above Courchevel 1650m then headed back to the La Tania runs.

Heading down from Chenus, we found that the La Tania bubble had already closed, and the red run to La Tania was closed.

So we mostly skied together down the green run - a lovely end-of the-day piste which brought us down to near the chalet.

Others negotiated the bottom of the red run in order to ski back to the chalet.

Tea and cake, sitting around chatting over the day, a soak in the bath, another delicious dinner, more sitting around chatting - then suddenly everyone was heading for bed!

We had actually got back to the chalet near 6pm - definitely a very good first day!

Snow had been falling as we went to bed, and it continued to fall in the night.

We woke to a white valley - with more snow forecast for later in the day.

The minibus arrived to take some women to ski school, and the rest of us headed for the bubble lift in good time - to see what the new snow was like.

Since much of the snow had fallen after the pistes were bashed, we found ourselves skiing in a lovely 5 centimetre layer of new snow!

The snow was slightly warm - but it was much better than skiing on hard piste.

We had a lovely morning - skiing all over the resort. At one point we stopped for a hot drink at La Soucoupe - a stunning little wooden restaurant on the pistes.

We then continued on until lunch at Chenus - where the ski school women joined us.

In the afternoon, some women had private lessons, while the rest of us continued skiing in two groups.

At one point we came across one of the private lessons concentrating on the finer points of carving....

The group I was skiing with stopped for a hot wine at Bouc Blanc on the way down.

We were all generally back earlier today - by 4.00-4.30 - with plenty of time for tea and cake!

Later we enjoyed either meat cooked on a hot stone, or a lovely lentil dish for the vegetarians.

It snowed some more in the night - colder snow - and when we woke, the air definitely felt colder.

The skiing was fabulous - especially the first runs of the day through pristine snow.

The clouds came and went, flattening the light from time to time, then letting the sun through again.

The weather changed all day, but it generally continued snowing.

Apart from those in ski school, or having private lessons in the morning, the rest of us skied above 1850m to begin with - stopping for a hot drink at La Soucoupe again.

Only La Soucoupe has a chandalier!

Later we headed over to the slopes above 1650m and skied a mix of red and blue runs until stopping for a late lunch at La Casserole - delicous pizzas and salads.

For the rest of the afternoon we split into two groups - for those who wanted red runs, and for those who preferred more leisurely blue runs!

The snow was superb on the Pyramids runs, but the light went suddenly very flat - and it was getting much colder, so we headed for home.

The leisurely blue run group stopped for a vin chaud at the Bouc Blanc on the way home - why change a great habit?!

Back at the chalet some of us made use of the new hot tub outside the chalet - a wonderful tonic for tired muscles! Others headed into the village to shop or enjoy a drink at the Hotel Montana.

Another wonderful dinner which finished with a delicious Banoffee Pie! Later we sat around chatting in front of the fire.

Today we had a wonderful blue sky day. Cold but definitely sunny all day, and lovely snow to ski on.

The Dou de Lanches lift had a delayed start, so we skied the blue run back down to La Tania while waiting - a superb run, with the trees all frosty.

Arriving at Col de la Loze, the views were stunning.

We headed over to the slopes above Courchevel 1650m, and had a glorious morning skiing on red and blue runs there. The trees were still covered in snow and looked quite magical.

Stopping for coffee at Bel Air, we came across the ski school women and their class - just finishing their break.

There followed some sychronised skiing... and some fun in the gulley....

The views were absolutely beautiful.

In the end, some of us only stopped for lunch at nearly 2.30!

By the end of the day it was getting much colder and we were glad to get back to la Tania.

Today was the chalet staff's night off - and rather than go out to a restaurant to eat, we shopped and ate in.

It was a really brilliant evening - with wine tasting organised by our resident wine experts, champagne, pasta with a leek and pea sauce, a superb cheese board of local cheeses.....

Everyone helped - from taking pips from the grapes, to making a huge salad, or doing the washing up....

We actually didn't have room for the fresh fruit salad - so it was kept for breakfast!

It was a great evening - finishing with a lot of laughter in front of the fire.

We woke to cloud, however it felt just a tiny bit warmer, and all the runs were more comfortable to ski.

Ironically, it turned out to be our best skiing day so far - despite the flat light at times.

There was no ski school today (they had had a double session the day before), and we all met up with each other on the Biolley run... and I got some good pictures...

At one point half of the group went off to ski Suisse - a black run which had just been pisted.

The rest of us decided on a posh coffee stop in full view of the black run - at Cap Horn: very nice toilets, big cups of coffee and hot chocolate with a truffle - and cost £4.50 a cup!!! Worth doing once!

From there, reunited, we skied more red runs, the while some women had a private lesson, the rest of us headed for the 1650 runs.

The snow was excellent - and we skied until lunch, then skied and skied afterwards until we were ready for home.

On the way back we stopped at the Bouc Blanc for a hot wine.

Back at the chalet more women used the hot tub, then we had an evening chatting and laughing in front of the fire.

International Women's Day - and what a day we had!

It started off grey and overcast, and the light was poor. We experienced slight disappointment - but set off up in the La Tania bubble as usual.

We skied a couple runs below Col de la Loze, because Biolley was late opening.

Then looking up it seemed to be getting brighter higher up - so we took the Suisse lift, and emerged into sunshine with incredible views above the clouds.

It was simply magic. We took lots of photos.

Mont Blanc in the distance was clear of the cloud, and all the surrounding peaks were poking through.

Red Combe to Saulire was relatively quiet, so we decided to ski down and come up again for coffee in the sun.

The run was in a lovely condition, newly pisted, so we did it a couple of times before stopping for a break near the top of Saulire.

Fantastic views from the restaurant out over the Meribel valley full of cloud. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Finally we dragged ourselves away and skied down Creux, descending into the mist - but it was thinning now and burning off.

We skied over to the runs above Courchevel 1650m, and had a couple of great runs down red Chapelets and blue Grand Bosses, practicing our carving, and delighting in how empty the pistes were.

All the runs were relatively quiet today - it being changeover day for many people. Maybe some weekend skiers had been put off by the grey start.

For a late lunch most of us headed back to Chenus, while a select few treated themselves to lunch at Cap Horn.

We then skied around on some favourite runs till we called it a day and headed down to Bouc Blanc for a final vin chaud.

The last run of the holiday was a great wizz down the green run - a lovely track through the trees back to La Tania.

Happy women - a great last day, and no injuries or muscle strains at all - all week!

Some women headed down to the bar at Hotel Montana for some apres ski. Lovely meal that evening, followed by a last evening in front of the fire.

The next morning we all left early for Geneva, leaving Raffa to welcome the next week's group - and Anita, who was staying longer.