As summer draws to an end, Adam Nichols turns his thoughts to snow.

FASTENING a six foot slab of fibreglass to your feet and sliding down frozen mountain sides is bound to increase the risk of accidents. For snowboarders or skiers, the thought is always at the front of the mind - one poor turn, one slip or one incompetent rooky out of control, and this could turn nasty.

The risk adds to the thrill that is snowboarding. If it were safe, the excitement would decrease.

Every trip I've been on so far has refreshed the image of fallen winter sports fanatics being stretchered off a mountain, or even whisked away by helicopter. For all that, I thought it would never happen to me.

And then it did. As I heard the sickening crunch as my head hit a chairlift, I realised I had become another ski-slope accident statistic.

My first day boarding in Sauze D'Oulx, an historic town high in the Italian Alps which has a reputation both for its nightlife and its beauty, had started well.

Far from being a beginner, if equally far from being an expert, I had found the turns easy, the speed exhilarating and the scenery of the resort absolutely breathtaking: its low altitude, by Alpine standards, leaves the area heavily wooded.

My downfall came when I caught the last chairlift of the day to the highest point, ready for a long run home. I slipped at the end of the ride and suffered a heavily bleeding gash to the back of my head. I was one very dazed snowboarder.

But what happened immediately afterwards filled me with reassuring confidence. Whatever future scrapes my winter adventures might land me in, if I'm lucky enough to be in a resort such as Sauze D'Oulx, the best of chances are going to be with me.

Admittedly, the chairlift attendant is not blameless in this episode. People are slipping on these lifts all the time, usually with the ever present and aware attendant there to slow or stop the chair.

Only this time, probably because it was the last lift of the day and not heavily used, the ever present attendant wasn't present at all. But he was the only person involved in this episode about whom I can bear any grudge.

I scrambled away from the still moving lift and sat bleeding, desperately attempting to retain consciousness and watching the blurry image of my companions, every ready to help in times of crisis, point a camera at me.

And within seconds, two Italian saviours appeared.

The initial concern that one of these rescuers was wearing a comedy ski hat with multi-coloured points sticking out of it soon vanished. The care I received could not have been better. But then I needed their attentiveness, as I was collapsed and semi-conscious at the top of a frozen wasteland, the nearest settlement being miles down the mountain.

Cleaned and bandaged, I was helped to a stretcher, fastened in and whisked down the mountain, skiers holding handles at either end of the stretcher, spray drenching my face.

As I reached the town, I was put straight into a waiting ambulance and rushed to Sauze's small but excellently equipped clinic. Fifteen minutes and a couple of stitches later, I was out - with permission to head back onto the slopes the next day.

My first impression of this resort did not lie. As I was still unsteady on my feet, my friends asked at the tourist information office about taxis. Instead, I was bustled into the tourist officer's car and taken to my hotel.

The episode illustrated the sheer professionalism of the rescue operation, which is obviously well rehearsed. And overall it showed how willing everybody was to go out of their way to help an English fool who'd been daft enough to be hit by a chairlift.

In fact, Sauxe D'Oulx is the friendliest resort I have been to.

Ski resort accommodation is not known for its high quality. As most people are there just to sleep, spending their days on the slopes and their evenings enjoying the aprs ski, it can get away with being basic.

But for the Hotel Des Amis, exclusively offered by tour company Panorama, that isn't enough.

Owned by the charismatic Lesley and her ski instructor husband, Mauro, the hotel has a real community feel with a lively bar in which Lesley will chat for hours and Mauro will offer lifts to town.

The town lives up to its reputation, with historic buildings - and bustling bars everywhere, tempting people from the restaurants and welcoming them until the early hours.

The slopes here are not for beginners or experts - most of the runs being reds - but this is an outstanding resort for intermediates. The low altitude sees the lower slopes sometimes suffering, but the snow during our trip was first rate.

Although the resort does link to the Milky Way, a massive system of runs incorporating other resorts including Sestrieres, Claviere and Montgenevre, the only link I could see was a drag lift up a black run - not the most tempting option for even the most experienced snowboarder.

Even if we had decided to brave it, avalanche risks caused by heavy snow closed the link for most of our stay.

But Sauze D'Oulx has such a variety of quality runs that a trip further afield is barely merited during a week's stay.

Adam Nichols travelled with Panorama Holidays, which can be contacted on 08707 595595, or at www.phg.co.uk.