Adam Nichols experiences the thrill of snowboarding in the French Alps.

There is something intriguing about tying a plank to your feet and hurling yourself down miles of mountainside. Partly, it's the unmistakable sense of fear as you feel the board slide towards what seems a sheer drop, as the pace quickens and the inexperienced boarder's confidence in his turning skills quickly dwindles.

As the adrenaline flows, as the pace quickens and the sense of danger becomes more and more realistic, you become addicted to this high-paced sport.

But, more than the excitement, the sheer seclusion and beauty that a quiet alpine ski run can give is something rarely experienced.

As the steep learning curve that is snowboarding is followed and competence improves, there are few better ways of escaping everyday life.

Skimming swiftly across the frozen slopes, through snow-covered pine forest, the icy breeze catching your face and the valley spreading a huge vista before and below you, the freedom that snowboarding offers makes you long for the first snows to fall.

France's three valleys of Meribel, Val Thorens and Courchevel have to be some of the best European resorts in which to discover it.

The huge ski area, one of the world's largest, is linked excellently by a network of chairlifts and gondolas offering hundreds of miles of some of skiings best runs - from the relaxed ease of the greens to the terror that the black drops instil.

Meribel is the Alpine village of your imagination. Its timber chalets, fairy lit streets and remarkable views are straight from the holiday brochure - the ideal that the inexperienced mountain visitor would hope for.

Unlike so many resorts, built solely for skiing and resembling concrete estates built with little aesthetic thought, Meribel appears to have been created by planners aiming for beauty.

The town centre is made up of two streets of timber-built buildings, snow piled deeply on their roofs, which lead to Les Chaudannes - the massive area linking lifts to every corner of this valley.

Chalets, hotels and apartments line roads running high into the mountains, linked by a regular, free bus service.

French culture is not at the forefront of this resort - most restaurants and bars are English-owned, including a Pizza Express startlingly similar to York's, and staffed by those working the season before returning home.

But there is a definite charm and friendliness to the place.

The bars are lively, late-opening and welcoming - although the town's police, complete with a bulldog, who ensure a ridiculous 10.30pm silence curfew is observed, are reputed to be a little too harsh on revellers. Restaurants offer a huge variety - from typically French to Italian and Mexican.

This is the ideal resort, offering wonderful ski runs, great surroundings and fantastic apres ski to rejuvenate the weary boarder after hours of exhausting exercise.

For more information contact the Office de Tourisme at B.P. 1, F-73551, Meribel, France.