The armchair skier

If you can't afford the sort of fantasy skiing shown on these pages, relax. You can experience it on video. By Liese Spencer

In Search of Powder

Scot and buddies, retiring to remote corners of Montana in search of powder and perfection, drive endlessly towards the camera or drop from cliffs to the sounds of a Beavis and Butthead-style soundtrack. The film captures spectacular scenery as the boys snowmobile into untracked territory, building igloos and following a New Age ethos of non-polluting sportsmanship. Worth watching for the trip to Antarctica. Columbia TriStar, 50 mins, pounds 18.99

P-Tex Lies and Duct tape

A snowstorm has been raging in British Columbia for four days - cue for powder-junkie Greg Stump to ignore avalanche warnings and get out on Whistler mountain. A bizarre mix of tectonic history, mogul championships and nude skiing is topped by the inexplicable presence of a hooded skier moving between the trees. Black Diamond, 75 mins, pounds 16.99

The Hedonist

Here absolute pleasure is "flying through space off a 50ft cliff". While snowscape from Chamonix to Alaska provides breathtaking imagery, the film is fronted by nerds in shades modelling their facial hair for the camera. Watching this makes you wish the gang would try jumping off a cliff without skis. Black Diamond, 45 mins pounds 18.99

Soul Session and Epic Impressions

Snowboarders carve into pristine slopes, while expert skiers race down vertiginous paths, skimming the ground with gravity-defying elegance. This makes you wish a helicopter would drop you on a mountain top and leave you to find your own way down - until scenes of a skier disappearing into an avalanche remind you of the pleasures of armchair skiing. Black Diamond, 45 mins, pounds 18.99

Videos available from Snow+Rock shops. Details: 0171-937 0872