What better way to jump into spring than with a good, long ski run? Peter Hardy looks at eight of the most challenging slopes in the world.

1 The Champagne Run, Vaujany, France

Start: A cable-car takes you up to just below the 3,330m summit of Pic Blanc above Alpe d'Huez.

Finish: The small hamlet of L'Enversin d'Oz, below the attractive resort of Vaujany.

Route: This is not for the faint-hearted and is best suited to experienced skiers. You cover a distance of at least 12km and drop 2,230 vertical metres. By the time you cross the blue piste at the top of Vaujany's own ski area, your thighs will be screaming -- but, incredibly, you've still got another 1,000 vertical metres to go.

In heavy, wet snow conditions this last section can prove the downfall of even the fittest.

2 Ventina, cervinia, Italy (No 7 on the local piste map)

Start: Plateau Rosa, at a heady 3,480m on the border with Zermatt in Switzerland.

Finish: At the bottom station of the Cervinia gondola at 2,100m.

Route: Just keep going downhill; it's a clearly-marked, easy trail -- well, it would be easy if you allowed yourself a stop or three. When taken at speed, you get the sensation that you've fallen into a computer ski game, with beginner skiers and stationary snowboarders forming hazards as you whiz by.

Doing it once is hard. Iron men and women do consecutive laps.

3 Peak-to-creek, whistler, british Columbia, Canada

Start: Whistler Mountain Peak Lookout at 2,182m, reached by The Peak high-speed quad.

Finish: Beside the Creekside gondola station at 653m, a thigh-burning drop of 1,529m.

Route: Skirt the top of Whistler Bowl and head off down the shoulder of the mountain. It's a blue intermediate run all the way but, if your legs can bear it, you can spice it up with a serious stretch of black

(difficult) by turning left half way down, on to Home Run.

If that's still not enough extreme entertainment, you can cut down Dusty's Descent or Big Timber, before rejoining the main drag near the bottom.

4 Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada

Start: Ride the Revelation gondola then a six-pack chair to 2,225m, just below the peak of Mount Mackenzie.

Finish: Beside the lower gondola station at 512m -- an extraordinary

vertical drop of 1,713m.

Route: There's a choice: beginners can take the serpentine Last Spike

logging trail, which coils around the front face. But for a real thigh-burner, take one of the fall-line runs. Devil's Club is slightly more difficult, but my favourite is Pitch Black. When we got to the bottom, my companion said he'd put in more turns there than in the whole of last winter.

5 Grande Motte, Tignes, France

Start: Take the underground funicular up from Val Claret or, if the weather is fine, ride the alternative two chair lifts. You then take a cable car to the top of the glacier at 3,456m.

Finish: At the train station at Val Claret, a vertical drop of just over 1,400m.

Route: Strong skiers take the main downhill training run from top. The Glacier run is less demanding and both meet up lower down. Just follow the piste.

Exhaustion here is exacerbated by high altitude. You need to consciously remember to breathe on every turn.

6ok, val d'isère, france

Start: Top of the Rocher de Bellevarde, reached by either the Olympique gondola from Val or by the Funival funicular from the satellite resort of La Daille.

Finish: By the river bridge in La Daille (or by the train station if you want to do it again).

Route: If you have secret dreams of being a World Cup downhiller, this

is where to fulfil them. OK, still a FIS race course, stands for Oreiller/ Killy -- two local Olympic champions. Competitors at next month's Ski World Championships will use OK for training. The race will be on the wicked Face de Bellevarde, down a course built for the 1992 Olympics.

OK starts with a couple of steep pitches that you are not advised to

take straight, followed by a long schuss and some more technical stretches. In good snow conditions, and when not prepared for racing,

none of it is difficult. The only enemies are scraped icy patches on the lower slopes and other skiers in your path.

7 Küblis and Serneus, Davos, Switzerland

Start: Take the cable car from Weissfluhjoch above Davos to the 2,844m Weissfluhgipfel.

Finish: 12km and 2,000 vertical metres bring you down to either of

these two farming hamlets, from where you take the train back to Davos or Küblis.

Route: This is a wonderful last run of the day, ending with a hard-earned drink in a wayside pub while you wait for the homeward train. From the top of the Gipfel you wind around the back of the Schwarzhorn and on down to Schifer, where the route divides -- skiers left to Küblis, right for Serneus.

8 La saulire-St Bon, Courchevel, France

Start: Ride the cable car to the top of the lift system at 2,738m on the ridge separating Courchevel from Méribel.

Finish: At St Bon at 1,100m, a vertical drop of 1,638m. Again, this is a good final run of the day. You'll need to catch a taxi back up to Courchevel.

Route: Take the classic route from the top, which starts steep for a few turns and then eases off to a pleasant gradient all the way.

Carry on down to 1,850, leaving the lift stations on your right, go under the bridge, and cut left on to the Brigues run. Shortly before Le Praz, drop off to the right on to the St Bon piste.

The main problem, apart from the strain on those legs, is finding your way without stopping to consult the map -- find a local willing to guide you.

- Peter Hardy