Call me a pessimist, but I never thought I’d see the Alps again. Marriage, children and something called fiscal responsibility slowly froze my hopes of making it back to the mountains.

“The answer is no,” said my wife, Natalie, whenever I dared to mention skiing. “You’ll be off gallivanting and I’ll be stuck in a chalet with the children.” By way of compensation, she bought me a fondue set.

But last winter, someone told me about Esprit. Established in 1982 by a couple of former RAF officers, the company aims to reconcile two apparently incompatible elements, small children and large mountains. Its solution is simple: top-grade childcare from before the lifts open until after they close, enabling parents, in the words of one plain-speaking client, to “sod off all day without worrying about the kids”.

None of my three — Benedict, six months, Annabella, 2, and Frederick, 7 — had ever been in childcare before, but I wasn’t going to let a small detail like that get in my way. Quicker than you can say “Daddy’s going skiing!”, I’d signed us up.

Esprit's operation is growing fast. It now runs 149 properties in 17 locations across Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France, but we headed to its flagship French resort, La Rosière, “the town where children are royalty”, according to the tourist board. That meant flying into Chambéry (chosen over Geneva or Lyons because the transfer is shorter) — and as soon as we’d landed, the company’s hands-on approach was obvious. Its reps stormed the arrivals lounge like an army of well-drilled Smurfs, rounding up bemused families and escorting them to a convoy of coaches. Then it was communal singing all the way up the mountain. Admittedly, there was an awkward moment when the junior Haslams had their first close encounter with a rep, warbling through “Super-California-surfer- expert-on-the-ocean”. But by the end of the journey, even the senior Haslams were joining in.

After that, mountain days quickly fell into a routine. Mornings started early: 0730 hours at the latest, with a noisy breakfast and a period of utter chaos as parents tried to dress their children. Then, at 0830, the door burst open and in came the Smurfs. As we poured coffee with trembling hands, the staff led our darlings happily away — and by 0840, something magical and half-remembered had fallen across the chalet. Something called silence.

At this point, some parents slunk away back to bed, but we’d been away from the slopes too long for such loucheness. We had mountains to explore, neighbouring nations to invade, lost youth to recapture — and only six days in which to do it all. I could tell you about the wonderful childcare, the Dick and Dom-style lunacy of Esprit’s Snow Club and the delights of taking a family holiday where everyone was happy. But why take it from me? I’ve been a father long enough to know that my opinion weighs less than a single snowflake, so let’s hear the practical stuff from the experts.

Frederick: “I joined the Sprite Beginners class, and on the first day, I couldn’t even put my boots on, but by the third day, I was taking the button lift to the top of the nursery slopes and skiing back down. Once you learn how to turn and stop, skiing is pretty easy.

“After morning ski school, our Snow Rangers came to take us to Snow Club. We sang crazy songs like Super-California-surfer and Ricky Bamboo, and after we had changed into dry clothes, we went to lunch. The food was very good and very healthy — we didn’t have chips once.

“After lunch, we went on treasure hunts, built snowmen, made igloos or went tobogganing. We also played mad games: Granny’s Knickers was my favourite. You stand in the middle of the circle and the others ask you questions. The only answer you’re allowed to give is ‘Granny’s knickers’, and if you laugh, you’re out.”

Natalie: “I’d never left the children with carers, and I was apprehensive about how they would react. I needn’t have worried. Benedict was collected by his NNEB-qualified nanny, Beth, on the first morning, and she engaged with him immediately, asking detailed questions about his routine, his diet, his likes and his dislikes.

The nursery takes babies from four months old. It is bright and sunny, with rooms that overlook the slopes, and is sparkling clean and full of new toys. Every evening at 5 o’clock, when I collected Benedict, Beth gave me a detailed written activity report detailing his mood, what he’d done during the day, what he’d eaten and even what they’d found in his nappy.

“Annabella’s nursery had little natural light, but was splendidly equipped with arts and crafts materials, musical instruments, all sorts of toys and a normal ratio of one carer to four children, although during our week there were two nannies looking after just five little girls. According to Annabella’s activity sheet, days were a hectic blend of free play, art, stories, songs and exercise, with snow painting, snowman-building and short walks in the fresh air to sharpen her appetite. By 5.30pm, all three children, together with chalet-mates Eve, 2, and Frances, 5, were back for a boisterous high tea with carers who actually seemed to enjoy their company.

“Because the children were in safe hands and having a wonderful time, I never felt I was abandoning them — and this made long, peaceful lunches in the mountains all the more enjoyable.”

So the women and children were happy. What about the rest? Does it matter? There was lots of snow, and Natalie and I spent long days carving it up, lunching in France and stopping off in Italy for hot chocolate so thick, you could trot a marmot across its froth. It was almost like being young again, and my GP promises that if I stick with the aversion therapy, I’ll be rid of Super-California-surfer in as little as nine months.

Travel brief: Chris Haslam travelled as a guest of Esprit Ski (01252 618300, www.esprit-holidays.co.uk), which has seven-night packages for a family of four from £1,374, including six days’ childcare and ski lessons. Other ski operators with well-regarded childcare include Ski Famille (0845 644 3764, www.skifamille.co.uk) and Powder Byrne (020 8246 5300, www.powderbyrne.co.uk).

Times recommends

• Britain's top 10 New Year's Day brunches
• Mozambique's lost islands
• The best things to see and do in 2010