Lucky's favourite runs in Morzine & the Portes du Soleil

Every legend starts somewhere, and mine started here, wobbling about at the top of the Pléney gondola. The beginner area is gentle and uncrowded by design, and it sits right above Morzine, so first-timers can be on snow minutes after breakfast.

Ride up, practise on the easy slopes, then ride the gondola back down when your legs are done. There's no shame in that. I do it every day.

Proclou is a choose-your-own-adventure run. The green and the blue share the same wide corridor, so nervous beginners and warming-up intermediates can ski it together and still meet at the bottom.

It's long and forgiving, and it points you towards Les Lindarets, the hamlet famous for its goats. I don't chase them. Much.

If you're learning with little ones, Chavannes is a proper beginner playground. The greens are flat and wide, with gentle lifts close by and a children's area beside them, and Piste 64 is the one everybody learns on.

It's a short hop from Morzine rather than a ski-out, but it's worth the trip for a relaxed family morning.

Crew favourite. Les Granges is my happy place. It winds through snowy fir trees between Pléney and Nyon, gentle enough to look around and pretty enough to want to. On a snowy day the trees give you shelter and better light than the open slopes.

It's on the official Morzine top five for good reason. Just remember it has flat bits.

Piste B is the ride home. It's about three kilometres of wide blue through the trees, with views over Morzine's rooftops, and it drops you straight into town, close to a hot chocolate or something stronger.

It's wide enough to practise your turns, but it gets busy and scraped as everyone heads home at the end of the day.

Two blues for the price of one chairlift. Tétras is the steady one, with an even gradient that's perfect for finding your rhythm. Zore is longer and has a sting in its tail: the last pitch is steeper and gets bumpy as the day goes on.

They're also a quieter way up towards Avoriaz if you get here early.

Don't let the colour fool you. Bleue d'Arare is wide, quick and on the steep side for a blue, and it's used for races. When it's freshly groomed, confident skiers can open the throttle.

It faces north, so the snow usually stays good long after the sunny slopes have turned to porridge.

Bleuets is the classic next step after the Chavannes greens. It's long, it's through the forest, and it never gets scary, which is exactly what you want from your first proper blue.

By the bottom you'll have made more turns than you did all of day one.

Crew favourite. L'Aigle is my number one. It winds all the way from the top of the Pointe de Nyon down to the plateau, so you can ski it in one go or stop at every bend for the view. On a clear day you can see Lake Geneva one way and Mont Blanc the other.

It's the run I'd take a visiting cat on to show off Morzine.

Crew favourite. From the top of Chamossière, at 2,002 metres, the whole range spreads out in front of you. L'Arbis starts steep enough to wake you up, then opens into wide slopes where you can lay down proper carving turns.

If you're feeling brave, the black next door, Les Creux, starts from the same summit.

You can see Le Stade from town. It's the steep, direct red on the face of Pléney, and it drops you right into the village. It's short, punchy and very satisfying when you nail it.

It gets firm and busy late in the day, when half of Morzine has the same idea.

Mont Chéry is Les Gets' quieter hill, and Chamois is its big, broad red. It's wide open at the top, with Mont Blanc on the horizon, and there's plenty of room to swing long turns without dodging anyone.

It's a lovely change of scene from the Morzine slopes.

Le Linga is a proper leg-burner. The Linga side of Châtel faces north, so the snow is cold and fast, and the run keeps a steady pitch for a long way. It's used as a race course, which tells you it's quick.

This one is for strong intermediates who want mileage, not for nervous ones.

Crew favourite. The Swiss Wall is one of the most famous runs in the Alps, and it's a couple of lift rides from Morzine. It drops from the France–Switzerland border towards Les Crosets: a narrow, steep entry, then one long mogul field with bumps that can be as tall as a person.

It isn't groomed, and once you're past the top section there's no easy way out. Only take it on if you're a strong, confident mogul skier or rider. If it doesn't feel right, you can ride the chairlift back down instead. I've done it. Twice.

Coupe du Monde means World Cup, and it skis like one. It drops off the Hauts-Forts ridge, high above Avoriaz, and the wind up there can leave it icy and seriously steep.

On a good day, after fresh snow, it's one of the best blacks in the area. On a bad day it will test your edges.

Les Creux is L'Arbis's naughty sibling. It's a long black from the top of Chamossière, and how hard it feels depends on the moguls: smooth and flowing early on, then a bouncy workout by the afternoon.

The open bowl around it is off-piste and avalanche-prone, so stay on the marked run unless you're with a guide.

Mont Chéry keeps its tough stuff for people willing to make the trip, and Mouflon is one of the reasons to go. It's steep and often quiet, with room to pick your line.

Blacks here are sometimes closed when conditions aren't right, even when the map shows them.