It's been quite a week for family Duff. At the Hampshire end, challenging times at work exacerbated by car trouble, utility trouble and the runup to a holiday. At the Buckinghamshire end, a brave new world: my brother Jonathan and sister-in-law Beth welcomed their firstborn. We travel up on Saturday to meet baby Gabriel, and - I don't say this lightly - I'm just as excited about that as I am about skiing.
And all being well, after the whirlwind that was January, Sunday 3 February will bring the calm. Us and the mountains and the tingle of adrenalin.
Val d'Isére.
Say the name in company, and reactions vary. Overpriced playground for Russian billionaires and the Made in Chelsea set? Chocolate-box village in winter wonderland setting? Or world-class snowsport Mecca?
The reality is a bit of all three. But my reaction is always the same. I go a little cold, unable to repel a shiver of apprehension.
I have unfinished business in this part of the French Alps. Having arrived full of anticipation at the start of our two week visit in 2009, I left battered and exhausted. The resort is pretty and surprisingly friendly, but in my head the mountains are forbidding and unforgiving - quick to punish, slow to reward.
But I'm certain that thousands of enthusiasts can't all be wrong. Val d'Isére is renowned as one of the great ski resorts - blessed with high altitude, breathtaking scenery and some of the finest lift-served off piste skiing in the world. Four years ago I didn't get the best out of myself or the resort; in 2013, I'm far better equipped to unlock the magic in these mountains.
We're very lucky to be getting two bites of the skiing apple in 2013. Bite one in Val sees us reunited with Simon and Cheryl, who joined us for a week in Whistler in 2011; bite two, in the last week of February, takes us to Sainte Foy with long-time ski buddies Ben and Andy.
As I type, I can hear the click-snap of Marianne's ski boot buckles as she readies them for travel. We're at that jumpy stage - the pressures of work falling away, excitement building - but as ever with a ski trip, praying that nothing goes wrong.
But before that, there's the matter of making first acquaintance with my nephew. I've already pencilled him in for ski school circa 2017...
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