It's Changeover Day in Val Thorens, which means legions of first-time and out-of-practice skiers hitting the slopes with sometimes disastrous consequences.

There's a rare crisis in Val Thorens when one of biggest cable cars in the world breaks down, leaving up to 100 people dangling from a wire 50 metres above the mountainside.

It's the famous Varsity Week, when rival Oxbridge universities hit town for a downhill grudge match - alongside the usual dramatic backdrop of cases from the slopes of Val Thorens.