Come summertime, when people want to feel the sun on their backs, they turn to the south, through instinct – like migrating birds – or just habit. Come winter, when they want to feel soft snow beneath their skis, they turn… to the south.

It’s a curious phenomenon. Everybody knows that the places where it’s always cold, and the snow is thick on the ground, lie in the opposite direction; but the bulk of skiers still head south to the Alps.