Whistler

Skiing in Whistler, Canada

Re-named Whistler Mountain in 1965 (after the cry of the ubiquitous western hoary marmot, or Whistle Pig) the pleasantly car-free village centre was purpose-built, quite attractively, on the site of an old garbage tip, a favourite haunt of bears. It is now an attractive but sprawling village, dominated in the Upper Village by the imposing neo-gothic structure of the splendid Fairmont Chateau Whistler hotel, and some truly terrific skiing on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains which have the largest vertical drop in North America: both are about a mile high.

Vancouver, the gateway city, is one of the most beautiful in the world. Then comes the two hour "Sea-to-Sky Highway" (99 North) drive, the early stages along the magnificent Strait of Georgia coastline, with misty views of Vancouver Island.

One of Whistler's few snags is its low elevation. At 675 metres (2,214 feet), close to the maritime influence of the Pacific seaboard, it tends to attract more than its fair share of rain. Although this nearly always results in fresh snowfalls higher up the mountain, the prospect of going out in the rain to start a day's skiing puts a slight dampener on things. But keen skiers and boarders will hardly give it a moment's thought. Superficially, the two mountains are quite similar. Each has more than 100 trails, many of them long cruising runs through pine forests. But Whistler has more bowls (Symphony, Glacier, Whistler, Harmony and West Bowls) while Blackcomb has glaciers: Blackcomb and Horstman. It also has more couloirs, such as Couloir Extreme and Pakalolo.

Zermatt

Skiing in Zermatt, Switzerland

No matter where you find yourself on the slopes of this remarkable ski area, the granite monolith of Europe’s most famous peak, the Matterhorn, seems to follow you around. Although by no means the highest of the 29 peaks above 4,000 metres around Zermatt, its stand-alone, savage beauty commands attention. Of the three main skiing areas, perhaps the best and friendliest sector to start with is traditionally the “sunny-side” of the valley, at Sunnega. This is the gateway to skiing at Unterrothorn (3103 m) Stockhorn (3405 m) and most famously, Gornergrat (3100m), with the Kulm, a large, quaint hotel, at the top. A wide, sunny terrace overlooks the Gornergletscher and one of the greatest panoramas in the Alps. Almost shoulder to shoulder, are the Monte Rosa, at 4634 metres - second in the Alps only to Mont Blanc in altitude - Lyskamm, the twin peaks of Castor and Pollux, Breithorn and the Klein Matterhorn, where Europe’s highest cable car takes skiers and boarders to the Italian border, where they can make their way down to Cervinia in the Aosta Valley. From the Gornergrat there is a clutch of easy blues going down to Riffelberg. The runs down from Stockhorn and Unterrothorn to Blauherd, including Zermatt’s celebrated Triftji, are more difficult, but from Blauherd back down to Sunnegga, the terrain opens out into easy cruising. Furi, at the far end of the village, is the gateway to the Trockener Steg link to Klein Matterhorn and Theodulpass, close to the Italian border, and Schwarzsee, nearest the foot of the Matterhorn. Some of Zermatt’s most challenging bump runs are encountered below Schwarzsee, on the way back to Zermatt via Furri. Intermediates can take the Weisse Perle, a nice roller-coaster red as an alternative route. This gives skiers and boarders a wonderful opportunity visit some of the mountain restaurants for which Zermatt is so justly famous.

Chamonix

Skiing in Chamonix, France

Both crowned and dwarfed by Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and its gigantic collection of attendant glaciers which tumble into the Mer de Glace - the second longest glacier in Europe - Chamonix is regarded by many as the “cradle” of climbing. It also has some of the most dramatic, and, for the true extreme skier or snowboarder, scarcely believable challenges in the world. The slopes in the Chamonix Valley are scattered among half a dozen areas, few of which actually link. Brévant and La Flégère are the two areas most intermediates will head for. Between them they have plenty of relaxed, enjoyable skiing, with some more challenging runs thrown in. Many strong skiers and boarders head straight for Argentière’s vast Grands Montets, with some of the finest skiing and boarding in Europe. A two-stage cable car takes skiers and boarders to the “sharp end” of the mountain at 3275 metres (10,745 feet). Apart from two serious off-piste routes which should only be attempted with a high-mountain guide, there are only two ways to start the long 2035 vertical metre (6677 feet) descent from the top: the tough black ungroomed runs of Point de Vue and Pylones. The highlight of your visit to Chamonix is likely to be the cable-car ride to the impossibly steep and spiny Aiguille du Midi. At the top, the exit is linked by a short causeway to the beginning of the legendary Vallée Blanche. There are three or four principal routes down it, all of which involve a rather hair-raising trudge down a ridge to a flattish plateau, carrying your skis and probably roped together. The main “tourist” route, contrary to rumour, is easy, and the only reason – albeit a good one – for a guide is to avoid the very real threat of crevasses. The scenery on the way down – myriad granite spires, steeples and towering, jagged peaks – is truly astonishing.

St Anton am Arlberg

Skiing in St Anton am Arlberg, Austria

For many, St Anton-am-Arlberg is both the cradle and Holy Grail of the skiing and snowboarding world. Ringed by majestic peaks, it has slopes of the highest calibre and a charming old railway town in which to celebrate the conquest – or attempted conquest – of those slopes. It is also close to other illustrious neighbouring ski areas – not just Lech and Oberlech, but Zürs, Stuben and St Christoph which are all available on the same lift ticket, giving the region a true embarrassment of riches. There are sweeping, beautifully groomed cruising runs, long, thigh-burning bump runs (particularly from the top of the somewhat hair-raising Schindlergrat lift at Schindler Spitze), daunting but exhilarating couloirs, and magnificent off-piste opportunities including (for brave hearts only) an exciting but quite severe descent from the very top of St Anton’s highest peak, the Valluga (9223 feet) down to Zürs). This is only permitted when you are accompanied by a qualified guide. Steep but much less daunting are the shortish, sharp descents through snowfields which filter into the Steissbachtal (Happy Valley) gully, the great homeward-bound route taken by so many skiers and boarders at the end of a day’s adventures. The Valluga slopes are the focal point for huge areas of off-piste and the starting point for the exhilarating run down to the picturesque village of Stuben. The delightful hamlet of St Christoph, high on the infamous Arlberg Pass, was an important and historic trade and military artery across the Alps. The five-star Hospiz Hotel, built on the site of an ancient hospiz where monks regularly rescued travellers overwhelmed by fierce storms, is one of the finest hotels in the Alps, and has a 14th century wine cellar right beneath the church.

La Grave

Skiing in La Grave, France

Cliché or not, the phrase “mean, moody and magnificent” applies so aptly to the quite extraordinary ski area of La Grave that I hope I am forgiven for using it. With the exception of Chamonix, there is nowhere that I can think of in the whole of the Alps with such startling, almost overwhelming glacial scenery. Dominated by the jutting multiple-peaks of La Meije at very nearly 4000 metres (more than 13,000 feet) it is a fearsomely beautiful place, and you need to treat it with the utmost respect. Before you attempt to ski La Grave, you should hire a guide. With a huge vertical descent of 2150 metres (7054 feet), La Grave is a vast, steep mountainside with no groomed pistes at all. Apart from a tame section at the very top on the Glacier de la Girose, with two T-bars, where it “links” in a manner of speaking, with the big local destination resort of Les Deux Alpes, the slopes provide an all-consuming, relentless descent from top to bottom. The two main descents, along with their variants, are simply the easiest and safest way down. If you stick to these two runs there is nothing really beyond a strong intermediate skier, but the moment you wander off in any other direction you may have to deal with much steeper terrain, a variety of couloirs and a selection of cliffs, small and large. In addition to this, on the upper sections, there is potential danger from crevasses and avalanches. Traditionally, La Grave does not open until January or February. There are two ways to reach the slopes: directly, by taking the two-stage, five-cabin téléphérique on a skyward journey to the Glacier du Vallon from the picturesque old climbing village of La Grave itself, on the spectacular Col du Lautaret. Or by making a 20 minute hike on skis across from Les Deux Alpes.