The mountains have a special sense of magic; an attraction that keeps drawing us back.

Evolving seasons, constantly changing weather and light creates unique atmospheres and sights that you often only witness one time, never to be repeated.

It’s lucky to experience this for a week but spending a season up in the mountains feels privileged indeed.

This year we arrive in Montgenevre at the end of February and plan to spend 2 to 3 months here. After the drama of the trip, arriving brings a relaxed sense of calm and familiarity, like coming home after a long time out on the road.

Interestingly, this turns out to be true as we realised we’ve spent more time in Montgenevre than anywhere else in the last two years. Strange huh?

This is our second ski season and it’s kinda like putting on my winter slippers the first chilly morning; everything that was new and a bit daunting the first time around is routine, comfortable and feels just right the second time around but still far from boring.

We met Richard and Michelle, who have arrived a couple of days before us, and make new friends too. It appears that someone’s spilled the beans about Montgenevre as there are more Brits here than almost any other nation at the moment. (In case you think it’s us, it’s not as only a special few are reading this blog)

The quiet of the week changes on Friday night, especially after a fresh 25cms of fresh cherry pow pow (powder snow) during the week, as the locals appear.

I think we end up clearing the snow from around the motorhome 3 or 4 times during the season as it’s been too deep to walk around, especially for little puppy dog legs. This of course means that the skiing is fantastic this year.

We find ourselves out for about 3 hours a day which means we get the chance to ski our favourite parts of the mountains and that we’re not leaving Merlin for too long. Although she’s always pleased to see us when we get back, checking ‘Dog Cam’ reveals that she spends most of her mornings asleep on the sofa. If the snow is great we’re out again in the afternoon and if not then we chill at home.

Settling into this easy routine for 5 or 6 days a week leaves the weekend to do the Montgenevre Shuffle (moving Beatrix out and back into the aire), washing our clothes at the launderette and then washing ourselves at Durancia, the Spa and swimming Pool.

By late March, we’ve already had a great season but almost unnoticed, the snow has been sneaking back higher up the valley, giving way to the first spring green shoots of grass.

But then, just as our friends Tim, Chris and Sue are driving over from the UK, winter fights back and we get another 15cms of fresh snow for their first day.

I’m so pleased that they’ve come to visit us and that they get to see the resort for the first time blanketed in snow which in my mind is how it should be and always reminds me of Christmas.

At this time of year, needless to say it doesn’t last the week but we get some fantastic late season skiing in.

Happily, they all love the resort, which is great as it’s pretty small by standards of some well-known places, and we join in the ‘holiday’ spirit that they’ve brought with them eating out at the mountain bars and enjoying Après in the valley pub.

In the end, they leave a day early as the clouds close in and the rain comes down all day but it leaves us with one more powder day before the season finishes and we make the most of it. It seems hard to believe that these are the cheapest months of our year.

Then, too soon, it seems like it’s all about goodbyes. We say goodbye to Richard and Michelle and then to Chris and Linda, twice.

Tales From The Road Less Travelled had decided to spend next winter in Spain and Portugal but I think we’ll follow our hearts and let ourselves be talked into coming back for another season by everyone we’ve met this year. Besides we don’t want those shiny skis to go unused do we?

It’s beginning to look like we’ll be the last van standing as we approach the closing weekend of the 19th April but no….. As the Easter holidays are upon us the Aire fills up with  Italian and French vans and lots of new faces. The resort is bustling one last time with ski instructors guiding classes like long snakes down through the patchy and icy Spring slopes.

We decide to exit stage left. We’ve got a date to meet our friends Eilidh, Alex and Callum in Belgium before the tunnel that’s booked for the end of the month and we’ve already been bewitched by the mountains’ magic.