Snow sweats, dude

It all started with a mistake. Attracted by the nice baggy pants, I took up snowboarding four years ago - as a lifestyle. But I forgot that it's also a punishing sport.

Up on a mountain, out of breath and legs shaking, I remembered. Since then, I've never underestimated the level of fitness it takes to get down a hill.

But snowboarding's context is an incentive to get fit, with surroundings a bit more attractive than sweaty gyms and an adrenalin rush that beats the joy of perfecting an aerobics move. And living in a country where the steepest slopes are the size of Alpine foothills is no excuse. Twenty-six-yearold Melanie Leando is seventimes British Snowboarding Champion, reaching world number four in 1999. And she grew up in Jersey.

Undeterred by the lack of mountains at home, Melanie became professional two years after she first started, and supplements her hilltop exercise with extra training. For her, snowboarding is great for all-over toning: 'Obviously, you firm up your legs, but you also tone your arms pushing yourself up - as well as using your core muscles a lot, so developing the abdominals.'

Melanie also emphasises how much the altitude enhances aerobic fitness: 'When you're snowboarding, you become really fit without even noticing it. Being out in the fresh air all day, on top of a mountain, you get a really good workout.'

Standing less than 100m above sea level, I may not feel the effects of altitude but I've already been reminded of my lack of suppleness. I'm at the Milton Keynes snowdome - the largest one in Europe - and my flexibility has been tested right at the beginning, as I try to do up my boots.

Staying on the skilift is another Herculean task. As it nears the top and the gradient steepens, my front thigh starts burning so much I'm tempted to let go and slide back down on my bum. And fastening the buckles over my boots becomes a test of endurance, as I try to reach the stage where I can do them up without sitting. But once I'm on the move, the aching is replaced by exhilaration.

Leaning into curves, knees bent, I start to feel that buzz you get when, however temporarily, gravity is on your side. It may be about as close to an Alpine slope as Centerparcs is to a Caribbean resort, but it's still the only chance I'll get this winter to feel remotely graceful, discounting gliding along the travelator at Waterloo.

And the best part is, in all my flowing arcs, I forget that I'm actually doing some exercise. I only realise, when I'm changing out of my snowboard gear, that my heart is beating at a post-run rate, I'm flushed and my legs have that nice ache that reminds me I have muscles in them. All this, and I can look cool, too. At least until I get on the slope.

Xscape, 602 Marlborough Gate, Central Milton Keynes MK9 01908 230260, www.snozonemk.co.uk For details of your nearest slope, visit www.snowlife.org.uk