No wonder Roger Federer has a property in the remarkable Arosa Lenzerheide alpine region

Oscar is an 18-year-old gelding, a gentle soul with sad eyes; we bonded with him almost straight away. He’s also a bit of a cheeky devil – especially when he wants to go home or take a different track: He speeds up to get in front of you, then tries to turn his own way. And he loves to stop and dig out some grass under the snow.

Walking with Oscar through the forest tracks as the days grew shorter and winter took hold was an exhilarating new experience for us – even on days when the temperature hit minus 5 degrees.

But as soon as the new year dawned, and the ski resorts were pumping, I dusted off my ski gear, ready to indulge my true passion.

Old friends are delighted to have me back in the country – and with many of them now working part-time (or at 80 per cent as we say), there’s always time to hit the slopes when the snow conditions are right.

It’s emotional, being back in the alpine region after so many years away, realising I can experience this mountain world anytime I want.

So under duress from this newspaper’s travel editor, I am finally sharing a few of my long-held secrets: The best spots to ski in Switzerland!

Well, to be clear, I’ll mainly tell you about my new favourite ski area, enjoyed many times over the past few months: Arosa Lenzerheide, a two-hour drive from Zurich.

Before moving back home last year, the last two places I had skied in Switzerland were St Moritz – that fabled, picturesque resort with frozen lakes and high mountains (but not ideal for day trips travelling from Zurich), and Flims/Laax. The latter is easy for me to get to at a 90-minute drive from my house, and it boasts stunning scenery, spacious runs, and peaks of up to 3000 metres, as well as the biggest half pipe in the world.

But this year, my good mates Beat and Hansjoerg convinced me to try Arosa Lenzerheide. The two areas were linked in 2014 to form the biggest ski area in the canton of Graubünden, one of the 26 cantons (the equivalent of a state or county) in Switzerland.

Living so close to the mountains makes it easy to ski only on bluebird days. My typical weekday ski trip generally starts a few days before, when I check the weather forecast and snow conditions, then decide the best day to go.

Meeting up at my mate’s place at 7.30am gives us time to be on the slopes two hours later. You tend to always find good snow and conditions at Arosa Lenzerheide because the ski area is so high up at 2865 metres. And after my first visit, I was hooked.

We quickly fell into a routine on ski days: After arriving at the carpark at Churwalden, near the Panoramabahn Cable Car station, we jump on the gondola and climb to 1935 metres. A quick change at the top to the Stätzerhorn chairlift takes us to 2575 metres, where we’re met with blue skies and panoramic views of more than 400 peaks, located not just in Switzerland, but also in neighbouring countries.

With more than 40 lifts to choose from, we don’t admire the view for too long – we want to get as many downhill runs on the groomed pistes as possible. But of course, we always have time for a quick coffee break at the Bergrestaurant Alp Stätz. It has the best hazelnut croissants; to die for!

The first few times I came here were emotional. Being back in the
alpine region after so many years away, realising that I’m living here now – and can experience this magic mountain world anytime I want – can feel overwhelming. It can make you choke up. But I’m getting used to it!

Back on the slopes, it’s hard to ever get enough of skiing in the blazing sunshine. After a late-morning coffee and croissants, we generally decide to head down the long 20-minute run to change to the Ost/West connection chairlift, which then takes us to the top of the Rothorn mountain. It’s steeper and more challenging; we take our time carving down to 2500 metres to hop on the gondola over the valley to the Arosa side.

I feel most at home here, looking down on the familiar sight of mountain huts dotted across the ski fields.

Lunch is usually rösti with eggs and baked cheese on the sunny terrace at the Sattelhütte Restaurant (a typical Swiss mountain hut with a cosy ambience) at the Brüggerhorn.

Revived, we enjoy a few more black runs before heading back to finish the day on the well-known Heimberg, where the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Lenzerheide takes place. With a gradient of up to 70 per cent, this section is one of the steepest and most energy-sapping runs in the Women’s Ski World Cup.

No wonder Roger Federer has a property in the Lenzerheide region. (He snapped up digs in the local village of Valbella back in 2008, and proceeded to extensively renovate). So you never know what can happen in this glorious part of Switzerland, you might even end up sharing a gondola ride with Roger.