Mountain playground

Eoin O’Sullivan takes to his skis to test out the slopes of Westendorf.

OKAY, okay! So it’s no longer such a clear-cut matter, black and white. No longer does a ‘real’ holiday have to consist of doing as little as possible, lying comatose on a yellow beach, turquoise waves lapping, golden sun beating. No more does a getaway represent the months-long wait for a summer sunshine sojourn in an effort to counteract the winter blues.

No, my preconceived notion of a holiday has been irreversibly altered, coloured by a fast-paced, action-packed winter break spent skiing in the immaculately picturesque Austrian Alpine village of Westendorf.