“Fünf . . . vier . . . drei . . .” I’m standing in a blizzard at the top of a giant-slalom course while a gruff Austrian counts down the seconds with gloved fingers in front of my goggles,writes Rob Kingston. Expert advice from the past week of training – keep the weight forward, angle from the hips, carve the turns – is battling for brain space against common sense – be careful, just get to the bottom, don’t make a fool of yourself. Below, I can make out only one red gate through the snowflakes before the slope dips out of view.

“Zwei . . . eins . . . GO!” For anyone who grew up watching Ski Sunday, entering a slalom race is a thrill. Regardless of your skill level, when you hear those timing bleeps and push out of the start gate, for a few seconds you are a catsuited Alpine hero, barrelling past clanking cowbells and inflatable Milka mascots. Hopefully you’ll reach the finish with body and dignity intact.

Welcome to the Crystal Ski Challenge, which offers skiers of all abilities the chance to train and compete in a series of races, receive expert tuition and have an enormous amount of fun. Held over a week in March, this year it saw more than 200 entrants descend on the Austrian resort of Mayrhofen, together with celebrity guests including Olympic star Sir Steve Redgrave and Britain’s No 1 skier, Noel Baxter, who will be there again in 2009. The majority, I suspect, are in a similar position to me: beyond the days of ski school but looking for a new way to push themselves. Lazy cruising on red runs won’t improve your technique – learning to ski gates certainly will.

I discover this on the first day with instructors from the British Ski Academy. After a few exercises, Lynn Sharp, a member of the British ski team, watches my practice run. I feel my turns getting faster and smoother as her tips shake up my technique. Later, as we watch our runs on video in the hotel bar, I realise my movements don’t look nearly as exaggerated as they felt.

What of my bid for glory in the giant slalom? My timed runs are both slightly scrappy but as I concentrate on carving my turns and the finish line looms out of the mist, in my mind I’m on Ski Sunday – even if it’s only the bit where they say: “And in 37th place, a plucky effort from the British competitor . . .” There’s always next year.

The 2009 Crystal Ski Challenge will take place on March 14-21 in Mayrhofen, with prices from £695pp including return flights, transfers, 7 nights half-board in a three-star hotel, lift pass and equipment hire, plus ski coaching and entry to the races. For details, call 0871 231 5643 or visit www.crystalski.co.uk