Why spend winter here in the UK, where it’s dark, damp as well as cold. We spoke to Johno Verity; star of the Extreme Sports Channel, who has the sense to make the most of winter by snowboarding the crisp and sunny white slopes in France! Still, there’s much less risk of punctured lungs by staying in and playing Amped 3 instead…

How did you get into snowboarding? What's the worst injury you've sustained?

I started snowboarding because I BMX and met some other BMXers in New York that got me into it about 10 years ago. My worst injury happened last April when I went wrong on a 70 foot kicker and landed about 90 foot from the kicker, caught my toe edge and whip-lashed my upper body into the ground, I collapsed my lung and was out cold for 10 minutes, in hospital for 5 days. I don't remember too much of that.

Have you ever played any snowboarding videogames?

I have played Amped, SSX Tricky and SSX on Tour. I found that Amped was the most realistic as they had gone into the most detail with getting everything as similar to actually snowboarding as possible. I think I found SSX on Tour more fun to play though as you can do things that aren't real, like take the board off and flip it around in the air.

Do you think that a game will ever capture the thrill of snowboarding?

Maybe with a full body motion sensor machine and a 3D image headset with wind and anti gravity chamber. To feel the same adrenaline I think you would really need to fear slamming, so the machine would need to bash you randomly with a plank when you fall. I guess it would be cheaper just to do the real thing.

What's the one move you can pull off in a game, but not on the slopes?

Any trick where you slide more that 60 foot on a rail over massive chasms or do a 1660 over a building while taking your board off and spinning it in your hands then star rotating in the other direction before you land.