You are somewhere in the French Alps, skiing down a slope covered in fresh, crisp snow. The air is clean, the sky is blue and all that can be seen for miles around are dazzlingly white mountains and the occasional chalet.

Then you wake up, coughing, in your Moscow bed. The only snow you can see from your window is already brown with the city's soot, and you know the only downhill ride you'll be making that day is on the escalator to the Metro platform. But it doesn't have to be this way. Moscow has the rare distinction of being a capital city that actually has ski slopes inside its boundaries. Val d'Isere and Alpe d'Huez they are not, but none are more than thirty minutes from the city center.

The most central is on Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills), a steep 150 meter run down a constructed piste in the south of the city. The slope is just next to a large metal ski jump built for the 1980 Olympic Games, though this is not open to the general public. Skiing is free - the only expense is the 30-ruble pass to ride the chair lift to the top of the tree-covered hills. To get access to the slope, walk from the Vorobyovy Gory metro station along the Moscow River to an office where the lift tickets can be bought.

Skis and snowboards are not available for rent from the office, but if you have your own equipment the trip is well worth it. From the top of Sparrow Hills you get a panoramic view of the capital, which becomes especially impressive at night with the lights of the city burning below. The run is open from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m., so there is plenty of opportunity for after-dark skiing.

Another spot in which to fulfill your Alpine fantasies is a man-made mound on Sevastopolsky Prospekt, just outside Bitsevsky Park. In the season this makes an impressive downhill alternative to the cross-country tracks through Bitsevsky, and a full set of skiing gear (boots, poles and skis) can be hired at the foot of the hill for 350 rubles. Remember to bring your passport to leave at the office as you ski, otherwise a 17,000 ruble security deposit for equipment is required.

Bitsevsky Park has four runs, including a nursery slope on which individual hour-long lessons are available for 950 rubles. Again, entrance is free but there is a 20 ruble fee for each lift ride.

The third and most varied option for skiing in Moscow is the Kant sports club, which boasts 11 slopes and is reachable from the Nagornaya metro station. Skis and snowboards can be rented from 450 rubles, and lessons can be arranged for 850 rubles an hour. The offer is open to adult beginners as well as children, if you can bear the humiliation of falling over in the snow as a group of five year-olds sail effortlessly past you. There are several ways to warm up at Kant after the slopes, as the resort also includes a café and sauna.

One city skier at Bitsevsky Park said, "I enjoy coming here, but if I can I prefer to leave Moscow to go skiing." But while the pistes at the likes of Vorobyovy Gory and Bitsevsky might not compare to resorts like Sorochany or Paramonova several kilometers out of the city, it's unlikely that you'd be able to go from office to piste in half an hour in any other European capital.

By Theodore Merz

Contacts:

Vorobyovy Gory - +7 495 939 0037

Bitsevsky Park - +7 495 275 3365

Kant - www.kant.ru , +7 499 317 6101