RESORT ROUND-UP

FRESH FROM THE SLOPES

First five-star hotel for Les Arcs

The Taj-I Mah opens in December in the highest Les Arcs village, Arc 2000. This ski-in/skiout hotel’s views over the resort are maximised by rooms with huge windows to let in natural light. Operators including Inghams (01483 345 685; inghams.co.uk), Crystal (020 8939 0726; crystalski. co.uk), Powder White (0845 463 6227; powderwhite.com), Erna Low (020 7584 2841; ernalow.co.uk) and Ski Collection (0844 576 0175; skicollection.co.uk) have packages.

Direct flights to Salt Lake City

Until now Utah’s superb powder, enjoyed at resorts including Snowbird/ Alta and Park City, has only been accessible from the UK by a minimum of two flights. Now Delta has launched a 10-hour flight from Heathrow to Salt Lake City, which is a short transfer from the slopes. Operators including Ski Solutions and Crystal are utilising the flights.

Ski-in/ski-out in Austria

Crystal has launched holidays to ski-in/ ski-out Hochsölden at 2,090m, giving access to the slopes of Sölden without the rowdy atmosphere. Ski-in/ski-out is rare in Austria, so it should be a boon to the programme.

Mountain Heaven tours to Iran

Following an exploratory trip in March, Mountain Heaven (0151 625 1921; mountainheaven. co.uk) is offering two new eight-day escorted tours to Iran, starting on February 24 and March 5. Each trip is for a maximum of 20 people and visits three

Plagne Montalbert to La Plagne’s main ski area. This season, the pistes from the top of the gondola lead to a new high-speed, six-person chair to Aime 2000, which will make staying in Montalbert much more enjoyable.

Gondola for Stubai glacier

The Stubaigletscher is one of the best glacier ski areas in the Alps and is popular all year round for day visitors. The six-seat Eisgrat gondola from the base to the heart of the ski area has in the past been prone to long queues at peak times and has been replaced by a resorts, Darbandsar, Dizin and Shemshak. The trip includes sightseeing in Tehran and Isfahan.

New Inghams family policy

Inghams (01483 345 685; inghams.co.uk) has changed its chalet policy regarding children for certain weeks of the season – December 16, February 25 and March 25. Previously a family couldn’t book a chalet unless taking it for sole occupancy. Now, parties with children can book just the rooms they need as long as there is no existing child-free booking in the chalet they want. 24-seater. The capacity has risen to more than 3,000 people per hour, up from 1,500, and the ride time has been halved to 11 minutes.

Speedy in Zermatt

A fast six-person chairlift in the centre of the ski area between Sunnegga and Gornergrat, going up to the Sunnegga sector from Gant, replaces a 45-year-old, four-person gondola. The chair carries 1,800 people per hour, more than double the old gondola’s capacity, and the journey time is cut to three and a half minutes. The long queues should be a thing of the past.