Val Devero.
Val Who?
Devero. And it's not who, it's where.
Never heard of it!

Good. It's charm is that people like you haven't. We were ski touring there in January.
Ski touring in January! But it's so cold and snowy in January. No one tours in January!

So we got it - a whole Val - to ourselves. 
We?
Stuart - the rusty iron man, Graham - monitoring his heart rate, Adrian - on a hotwire to the office, Heather - now with the wolfish new skis,  and Me and my video fixation, all trouping along behind Jean Marc.
Sounds like a nice group.
It was. Especially me.

A cold miserable hut I suppose! Outside toilets and that.
Nothing of the sort. Great Italian cooking, great Italian coffee, great Italian wines.
Ah. Italy is it?
Quick, aren't you? Yes. That bit that sticks up into Switzerland. Did I mention the hot showers?
I thought you tourers were tough. It sounds more like a pampered spa.
Luca, whose place we stayed in, served us his own yoghurts, cheeses, butter, meat, apples, walnuts ... we lived off the fat of the land.
So you sat around Luca's all day.

We toured around Luca's all day - up through the trees, onto the ridges above, picnics on some sunny lofty perch, back via a frozen lake, or practicing transceivers in the powder.
Powder? You got powder too?

Yeah. You so wouldn't like it.