Make this a ski season like no other

Match your ideal resort with the best time to go, says former Olympian Chemmy Alcott as she introduces our month-by-month guide

I’ve always found the rallying cry of House Stark in Game of Thrones somewhat overly dramatic, but this year is different. Winter is coming, and it’s the winter we’ve all been waiting for.

I am so fortunate to have spent many years chasing snow – both as a Winter Olympian and now as a recreational skier still searching for perfect arcs and chest-deep powder – and I’ve learned it pays to have a battle plan. This season in particular, procrastinators won’t get powder days; brave early bookers will.

I love that different months of the year entice different types of people to the slopes. It begins in early December with the top trumpers – those so keen to get on skis that they flock to the snow in high-altitude resorts. I’ll be starting in Hintertux, Austria, running adult performance camps on its glacier, before the festivities kick off. I have always skied at Christmas. I can’t remember a time where I couldn’t look outside and not see snow as presents are placed under the tree – it’s magical.

By the time January rolls in, the snow is almost guaranteed. A popular time for long weekends, it is also quiet and a great time to travel with my pre-schoolers. With the slopes being less busy and the snow hard-packed and grippy, both my sons, Locki and Cooper, have had their happiest times in the first weeks of the year.

February can be carnage. In fact we are expecting the 2022 Winter Olympics to inspire a lot of people to book a last-minute winter holiday, so look for a hidden gem. You don’t have to stray too far off the beaten path – just be inventive. So, instead of Val d’Isère, stop at lesser-known Sainte Foy, where there’s plenty of fun terrain.

I love spring skiing. March can be epic, with huge overnight powder and sunny days. The mixed conditions adds spice: you find yourself changing rental skis – from piste carvers to fat powder planks – on a daily basis.

I also recommend that first timers and parents with young children start late in the season – no one wants to be cold when they learn.

Heading into April, long lunches are prime as the days get longer and the seasonaires let their hair down. I love sunbathing on a high-altitude terrace, Aperol spritz in hand, after a morning shredding up the pistes. It won’t be long now – cheers to the best ski season ever.