It¹s not long now. In a month's time, the first lifts in non-glacier resorts will be running, and even in London, we'll be able to smell the snow. Well, perhaps I exaggerate. But there's no doubting the turn of the seasons, and the longer nights, and chillier mornings, have got me itching for that first day on the slopes.

Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to most in the 2007-8 season.

1. Taking the train to France. The new Eurostar terminal in St Pancras station opens on November 14, and with it the final stretch of high-speed line in to London. This is going to cut journey times to the continent, including the direct, Saturday-morning ski train to the French Alps.

It will now take just 7hrs 20mins to get to the town of Bourg St Maurice, which is less than an hour's transfer from the Val d'Isère and Tignes (journey times to other famous French resorts will be even quicker). I¹ve long been a fan of this service ­ there¹s no more relaxing or luxurious way to get to the slopes ­ and now it seems irresistible. Tickets start from £179pp return, booked direct with Eurostar - though many peak dates have long since sold out.

2. Skiing Revelstoke. It¹s not often a brand-new ski resort comes along, but this is one of those years, thanks to the scheduled opening of the first lift at this new Canadian resort in December, on the road from Calgary to Kamloops. This season there will only be two lifts running, but that¹s set to increase for 2008-9, when the resort will feature the highest vertical drop in North America ­ 6,000ft.

If you're keen to try it too, check it out as part of a longer road trip, flying in and out of Calgary and taking in Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, and maybe Panorama and Fernie too. It won¹t be cheap. But it will be a proper adventure. Ski Safari can do the honours, and book flights, accommodation and car hire for you.

3. Visiting the Val d'Anniviers. Finally, the world is waking up to the appeal of smaller resorts (Ste Foy Tarentaise and Vaujany being two notable examples): the extent of the ski area may be smaller, but because they're much less crowded, you tend to get more snow, and a more relaxing atmosphere. Now there¹s a new destination on my hit list ­ Val d¹Anniviers, in the in western Switzerland. There are four separate ski areas in the valley, and I¹d only treat it as a place for a short break or for a family holiday - but the word is it¹s bliss. Made to Measure can tailor-make trips to the largest area, at St Luc.

4. La Niña. Will it? Won't it? It¹s the question on every powder pig's lips this autumn. The occasional climate anomaly seems to have developed over the late summer in the Pacific, and the forecasters are saying it's going to generate extra snow in the Pacific Northwest of America and Canada. If it does ­ then I'm going. So, I would imagine, is everyone else. Which of course means there's going to be an awful lot of competition for first tracks in the morning. Amongst the many operators offering off-the-peg packagers there are Inghams and Ski Independence

5. Not wearing day-glo ski pants. Camouflage is so 2004, darling: now, the hot trend in ski clothing is bright, acidic greens, yellows and orange. Brilliant white is popular too. Which is all very well if you can ski backwards down the half-pipe pulling somersaults all the way. But most Brits would be well advised to be a little more discrete. Remember it's not how you look, it's how you ski that matters, and if you¹re snowploughing nervously down the mountain in expensive, cutting edge fashions then everybody¹s just going to laugh at you.

For more news of what¹s new in skiing, visit www.welove2ski.com

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