Speed is a friend on the slopes

Britons who have booked cheap ski flights may wish to hear the advice given to one writer, who was told by his instructor that on the slopes, speed is a friend and not an enemy.

This was what the Guardian's Tom Robbins tried to keep in mind as he prepared to fly down the slopes as part of his freestyling course recently.

His training class involved jumping from a 35 foot ramp at 43 degrees with the aim of getting winter sports enthusiasts pulling off skateboarder-style tricks on their skis.

And while the beginning of his class took place in the safety of a converted barn with protective foam cubes scattered across the floor, it was soon time for him to attempt a door on the actual slopes.

"Expect to get hooked on freestyle, but don't expect miracles. Progression probably is inevitable, but foam pits or not, it's also painful," Mr Robbins explained.

However, he may find advice from Winter Olympic gold medal-winning downhill skier Franz Klammer beneficial to improving his technique.

Mr Klammer told the Guardian that a good skier was someone who could control their speed from the top to the bottom of the slope.

Book cheap flights for skiing & snowboarding breaks with Jet2.com the low cost airline.