French Alps Ski

Convenient, value priced skiing in both luxury and standard accommodation

The French Alps have long been a favourite holiday destination. The grandeur of arguably one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on earth draw hundreds of thousands of skiers and alpiners to its lofty peaks each year. Even if you skied there every winter for the rest of your life you could not hope to discover all of its secrets.

From the picturesque rustic alpine hamlets to the mighty Chamonix the choices laid out for you are vast. There are more than one hundred fantastically groomed resorts. France is very safety conscious; the trails are all graded from easy greens, to blues, then reds with black being only for the very experienced. They are all meticulously checked to prevent injury and the ski-instructors are of a incredibly high standard.

It is perfect beginner ski and intermediate territory with some formidable off-piste.

Of course, the Alps werent always the target of ski and snowboard fanatics. Before tourism was introduced to the peasant famers of the mountains, the meadows were filled with livestock which were tended to see the locals through the hard winter months.

Obviously when they realised how much money could be tapped from affluent skiers then it was down with the pitch-forks and up with the skis! Lift systems sprang up to link rapidly expanding ski areas. The shepherds cabins became mountain restaurants and enterprising wives converted their front rooms into bars and cafes.

The traditional fare still influences the resorts restaurants today, potatoes, cheese, onions and pork seem to be the base for many of their dishes such as Tartiflette, Salade Savoyarde, Fondue Savoyarde, Raclette and Brasserade. Its not much fun if youre not a cheese fan as the smell of the local Reblochon cheese does tend to permeate most restaurants.

Getting to France for Ski Travel has never been simpler. With budget airlines springing up left right and centre adding more and more routes to their itineraries there is no reason why you cant leave your house in the early hours of the morning and still get half a days skiing or boarding in before bed. The choices of airports are Grenoble, Chambery, Annecy, Lyon and Geneva in Switzerland.

Transfer times can be just an hour long depending on which resort you pick, something worth bearing in my mind for those travelling with young children. The train network in France (SNCF) is a lot more efficient than its English counterpart and not as pricey. If you are travelling en masse it may be worth filling a people carrier and driving over. It will take roughly ten hours to cross the country but when working out your budget remember French tolls are expensive and will add on about eighty euros to your journey. However with the extortionate rates the airline are charging for taking your skies and boards over it may even itself out.

Choosing your resort can seem a bit of a minefield, although the traditional alpine working villages are very charming they werent designed with the skier in mind. Purpose built resorts may not be so pretty but you will find everything at your fingertips with the majority of hotels and chalets ski to door. If the kids are coming too, try and stay near the nursery slopes to escape those long arduous walks in ski boots.

France is a very family ski friendly country, they are always welcome in restaurants whatever the time and the lift handlers will stop the lift if necessary for children to hop on with ease. Beginners are well catered for here with a good choice of easily reached ski/snowboard schools. If you are travelling late in the season try and get a high, snowsure resort such as Val Thorens, Tignes, La Plagne or Les Deux Alpes for better snow conditions or you could find yourself skirting round unappealing muddy brown patches.

Chamonix is the oldest ski resort in France. It hosted the first winter Olympics in 1924 this place is still a Mecca for the advanced skier, mountaineers and all round outdoor enthusiasts. Based at the foot of Mount Blanc, which at 4808 metre is

the highest mountain in Europe, in 1955 it broke another record by building the highest cable car in the world the Auiguille Du Midi.

Morzine-Avoriaz s a brilliant all-rounder and also is part of the mammoth Portes des Soleil ski area which covers 400 square miles providing 650km of marked runs and limitless off-piste. Avoriaz is also known as the snowboarding capital of the Alps and is also home to The Wall, a severely steep mogulled black run that will give you serious bragging rights in the bar later.

France has linked its resorts very well and you will find even the smallest resorts are still part of large ski areas. The other two giants area belong to Les Arcs and La Plagne which join to provide 425 km aptly named Paradiski and the world renowned Les Trois Vallees that unites, among others, Courcheval, Meribel and Val Thorens with 600km of piste.

Apres-ski in France is wild; the cosmopolitan mix of visitors each year wanting to let their hair down contributes to a vibrant, lively atmosphere. Have a couple of vin chaud (mulled wine) on your way back down where youll find an eclectic choice of live music and energetic hoards of skiers and boarders dancing on tables quaffing down restorative beverages. Even non-skiers will have heard of the infamous Dicks Tea Bar in Val DIsere. Other top resorts for apres-ski include Chamonix, Morzine and Meribel.

When the winter season ends many people still head for the mountains for the unreal experience of glacier skiing in glorious sunshine. Tignes, Chamonix and Les Deux Alpes hold regular free-style competitions all summer long at their snow parks perched high on the mountainside.

The glaciers arent the only attraction; the Alps are almost filled to capacity during the summer months with the more discerning holiday maker wanting to escape the beer and beach crowds by the coast. Anyone who wants clean fresh air and stunning scenery with a wealth of activities holidays in the mountains. Climbing, walking, paragliding, white water rafting, kayaking, windsurfing and mountain biking are some of the favourites with folk festivals, the Tour de France, outdoor theatre and lakeside parties as other popular diversions for the less active.

The only problem is a week really isn't long enough to make the most of this spectacular corner of France, once discovered many visitors return year after year for a pure hit of unpolluted fresh air, returning home full of joie de vivre.