An Alpine skiing odyssey

You visit the wildest and most exciting slopes, staying in different villages and mountain huts along the way – but unlike ski touring, which is a slog, “ski safaris” involve the use of cable cars, skidoos, helicopters and any other forms of transport available to cut out the boring bits, says James Pickford in the FT. Moreover, the tours are customisable, so groups can plan their trip according to whether their priority is “clocking up the ski miles, communing with nature or sampling the local cuisine over long lunches”. Of course, there can be logistical problems, when you are dealing with complex itineraries and “fickle” high-altitude weather – but choose a good tour operator, and “go with the flow”, and “you never know where it might take you”.

One circuit kicks off from Zermatt with some off-piste skiing on the Gornergrat ridge, accessed via a Swiss rack railway that has been winding its way up to 3,089 metres in all weathers since 1898. It then takes in a night at the Gandegghütte, a 19th century mountain refuge fixed “limpet-like” on a rock beneath the Breithorn. (The bedrooms are icy, but the duvets are so thick that you’ll be throwing off clothes within minutes; and the food is good and hearty.) From there, a helicopter flight to the 3,488-metre Italian peak of Château des Dames might allow for a “euphoric” descent on untouched powder snow all the way to the valley. You stay overnight at the new White Angel hotel in Cervinia, with its striking views of the Matterhorn’s Italian side, and finish off with a whizz up in the cable car to the Theodul Pass and a wonderful 10km, off-piste run towards the Hörnli ridge and back to Zermatt. Peligoni Ski (020-8740 3024, www. peligoniski.com) has a four-night ski safari around Zermatt from £2,450, including flights, guides, equipment and one heli drop.