"This isn't golf, ladies"

No, it's indoor skiing.

It's new, it's difficult, it's fast and a bit scary - and I'm irreconcilably addicted only after one lesson.

Slightly hungover, sweating like a beast and grinning from ear to ear

Growing up in sunny Perth, the idea of snow and skiing were very remote concepts. To this day, I've never touched real snow, and until this weekend, I'd never snapped on a pair of skiis. So when a friend suggested indoor skiing lessons, I jumped at the chance to hone my technique before I hit the slopes.

We started out like a trio of awkward ballerinas at a padded, white barre. After learning the basic snow-plough (or as I like to think of it, the "thank-goodness-I've-stopped"), we moved on to turning and gradually built the confidence to move away from the barre. When I wasn't grimacing in determined concentration, I was laughing in sheer delight. After an hour we stumbled off the astro-turf treadmill with aching muscles and beaming faces. I can't wait 'til next time!