Colorado Rockies Why snow fans should slope off to America this ski season

SKIERS experience two types of fun on the mountain, my instructor tells me. One is the kind you have in the moment, relishing the rhythm that takes over as you glide down the easier corduroy groomers between swathes of deep green lodgepole pine, inhaling the clean air and soaking in the brilliant sunshine over the Colorado Rockies as you go.

Then there’s the kind that only becomes fun once the event is over. This is the type I’m experiencing right now, as I negotiate my first black run after a five-year break from skiing, heart in my mouth, skis perched on the top of what seems an impossibly steep slope.

Concentration heightened, I try to complete my descent without suffering a total wipe-out. But when I’m down, quads aching and heart pounding, I look up at the route I’ve just skied and the fear is replaced by euphoria, before we finish the descent on easier blues to the centre base at Copper Mountain, Colorado.

This purpose-built family-orientated resort, a two-hour drive from Denver, is just one of the options for skiers taking advantage of Norwegian’s low-cost flight service to Colorado’s capital, from where you can access a myriad of resorts, including Winter Park, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Aspen.

But why go to the US instead of Europe? Well, for a start, the Americans are big on hospitality. Their attitude is “How can I help you?” rather than the surly “What do you want?” approach from at least one European counterpart.

Lift queues are managed more efficiently and safety is paramount, as learners find their ski legs in the designated slow zones.

English is also the instructors’ first language, a massive bonus when you are being taught the intricacies of beginner snowploughs, weight distribution and turning techniques.

Class groups are often smaller in Colorado than in Europe. I’m told six to eight is the usual number, as opposed to 10 in some ski schools in France.

Copper is ideal for families and all abilities, thanks to its landscape; the easier slopes being largely to the west and the more difficult to the east, where there are four bowls for advanced skiers.

It’s a high-altitude location – 9,712ft at base level – and small, portable oxygen canisters are available to buy for around £10 in case of altitude sickness. We are all advised to drink plenty of water and not go heavy on the alcohol if we want our bodies to cope with the change in atmosphere.

While my companions, who are advanced skiers, venture to Tucker Mountain at

12,337ft, hitching a free ride via the resort snowcat before hiking up to the summit and skiing down the high-alpine chutes of the back bowl, I opt for cruising the blues, appropriately named Oh No, Skid Road and Bouncer.

The pistes are quiet today, even though weekenders from Denver often use Copper as a ski bolthole. With 2,490 skiable acres, there’s plenty of action to keep you amused for a week without repeating the same runs.

Meanwhile, non-skiers can try tubing – like tobogganing in a giant rubber ring

– or the new Rocky Mountain Coaster, a rollercoaster in the trees, which can reach 25mph but allows you to control the speed.

Unlike other Colorado ski resorts, Copper doesn’t have any hotels, just self-catering condominiums which are more spacious than many European offerings, although you may have to get the free shuttle bus to find a decent supermarket at Frisco, half an hour away.

From Copper, we head west to the place where the other half lives, Aspen, a two-hour drive away and ski home to stars

Copper Mountain is ideal for families and skiers of all abilities, thanks to its varying landscape