The Mountain Odyssey: We're all going on a... summer holiday

Eleven degrees. Two thousand metres up a Canadian mountain. In January.

According to the locals it's not unprecedented, but it's certainly unusual, and a stark contrast in this fierce North American winter of polar vortexes and ice storms. The temperature is a full twenty degrees warmer than it should be, and to add a touch of weird to the bizarre, we have another Whistler peculiarity - a temperature inversion. It's colder at the bottom than at the top.

Obviously none of this is conducive to good snow. Having watched the weather forecasts with growing dismay in the week leading up to our departure, it was with a mix of trepidation and homecoming that we boarded the Wizard chairlift at the base of Blackcomb on Friday morning.

By midday, spirits were lifted. We were beginning to get our skiing legs back - a relief for me, as I seem to forget everything I ever learned from year to year - and the snow is better than we feared. Worst affected is the sun-drenched Seventh Heaven area; the trails themselves are fine, but thinner-than-usual snow cover means more exposed rocks and trees in between.

So while we'd love a metre of fresh powder, there's really no cause for complaint. The sun is shining in a resort which has, more often than not, served us inclement, snowbound days. The views are jawdropping. We're here, and after a difficult second half of 2013, that in itself is a bonus. Thank the improved exchange rate and Air Transat for that.

Why Air Transat? Because the return airfare was so cheap (around £300 each less than the equivalent airfare on BA) that I half-expected it to be a scam. And I fully expected the trip itself to be a nightmare.

Wrong on both counts. Aside from a three-hour delay which we knew about a day in advance - so no wasted time at the airport - they were impeccable. Our skis were carried free of charge, the aircraft was an old but tidy Airbus A330, the seats were almost comfortable (with decent legroom even for me) the food was perfectly acceptable, drinks were plentiful and the crew were a revelation: the friendliest, most hardworking I can remember in decades of economy long-haul flying. I'll reserve final judgement until the return flight but so far, so impressed.

Coming up to 6.30am on Saturday (ain't jetlag wonderful) I can hear the resort coming to life. Today we'll sample Whistler Mountain itself and carry on as we started - seeking out the shaded trails where the snow is at its best. And like everyone else we'll watch the forecasts, do our daily snow dance.

Day Two (of eleven) beckons...