According to a new report, it's bad news for female planning to work a ski season.

According to new research, a team in Peru has now found that women living at higher altitudes seem to age faster than those living at sea level.

Peak hormone levels in the former were only 40% of sea level dwellers. Ageing in women is accompanied by a drop in blood levels of sex hormones and growth hormones, associated with tissue-renewal functions.

The cause remains a mystery, but The Sunday Telegraph, where we found this report suggests it might be best to forgo year-round skiing holidays or retiring to a Himalayan ashram.

Based on our knowledge of women in ski resorts however, it seems unlikely that hormone levels are falling, so perhaps the ageing theory is wrong as well. Maybe it's all that alcohol keeping the balance...