And although CDA still has 100,000 square metres of land in ski resorts which it could sell to Intrawest – as it did the site for Arc 1950 – for further developments, J?me gives credence to the “last mountain village” notion of Arc 1950: “There is a minimum amount of space you need to build a village, and there are no other large enough sites available.”. Despite being surrounded by mountains, and twice playing host to the Winter Olympics, Innsbruck isn’t a real ski resort at all. At least not in the sense of being a place that exists for skiing. Instead, it has all those things you expect to find in a city – sights, hotels of all kinds (the Weisses Kreuz is one of the nicest), plus restaurants and nightlife to suit any budget. It also has a few things you don’t expect to find, in particular, its own ski slopes.

These are so close to the city centre that you feel that if you lived there you would stop off at the Hungerbergbahn railway and go to the top of the Hafelekar for a couple of runs on the way home from work. Unfortunately, a couple of runs is (almost) all you will find up there. But there are other slopes close by, and you can ski any of them with a single lift pass, and a Club Innsbruck Card which provides free access to the ski buses.The local ski areas include Igls, with its downhill racecourse, and the Stubai glacier at Neustift, which is one of the best summer ski areas in Europe – a total across the Innsbruck region of more than 500km of slopes.The most challenging skiing is to be found at Axamer Lizum, which is also a popular snow-boarding resort, and there are some steeper slopes at Kitzb?, which can be reached during the week with the same bus pass.Made to Measure (01243 533333) offers skiing holidays in Innsbruck. We have a 25-year, £75,000 mortgage paid for by a Pep/Isa, which, with 15 years to go, we are worried may not realise the sum borrowed We have paid £75 to £100 monthly and returns have been weak £5,068 was invested in the Pep and £2,796 in the Isa The Pep has gained £1,100 and the Isa has lost £400. Should we cut our losses and take out a repayment mortgage for the remaining 15 years, or wait for an upturn in the market and stay with our Isa? MOH, Middlesex. Q: We have a 25-year, £75,000 mortgage paid for by a Pep/Isa, which, with 15 years to go, we are worried may not realise the sum borrowed We have paid £75 to £100 monthly and returns have been weak £5,068 was invested in the Pep and £2,796 in the Isa The Pep has gained £1,100 and the Isa has lost £400.

The weak performance of stocks mean that Pep/Isa savings plans may not fully repay mortgages. It is too soon to panic, but a good moment to exercise caution by putting in place a failsafe plan. Steve Herbert of Select Mortgages and Loans suggests your best option is probably to stick with the ISA as a savings plan, but without assuming it will pay off your mortgage. You could take out a repayment mortgage for part of the balance and maintain your ISA.