Despite it all, we were determined to press on. A 90-minute train journey took us to Saint Gervais les Bains in France. We arrived after nightfall with no idea how we would manage the last 40 minutes across the border, beyond towering Mont Blanc, to Courmayeur in Italy.

Taxis had finished for the day but a chance encounter with a kind Frenchman, who was in the car recovery business, meant we ended up in a beaten-up taxi van with dodgy brakes, the meter switched off for most of the journey and a nail-biting approach to the Mont Blanc tunnel. We are not sure that Les Douanes at the France-Italy border even saw the passengers in the back, but we were waved through in under 60 seconds. 

Incredible since, with hindsight, we are not sure whether they would have let us transit through France on the original bus we had booked. Having heard reports of inspections, there were concerns the French police would have come on board at the border – according to government advice pages we were only allowed to be in France for 24 hours (without 48 hours of quarantine) if we’d remained in an ‘international zone’.

Arriving in Courmayeur, the Cripwell family skiers stared up at the mountain peaks and wished ourselves a very, very Happy Christmas. What’s more, we swiftly worked out the advantage of skiing in Italy – the Italians. They were so welcoming, excited to hear of our adventure, and grateful to us for not giving up. They wanted us there and were proud to show us their beautiful, chic ski resort.