SKI FROM A MOUNTAINTOP HIDEOUT

Make first tracks each morning on deserted virgin slopes while mere mortals are still waiting for the lifts to open. On a blue-sky day, it’s great; on a powder day, it’s an experience that’s nothing short of sensational. Val d’Isère offers 300km (186 miles) of slopes for all standards and also has the most reliable snow in Europe. If it were a resort hotel, Le Refuge de Solaise would have five stars, but it’s classified as a starless mountain refuge. Refuges, as ski tourers know, don’t have pools, gourmet restaurants, cocktail bars and cinemas.

They’re spartan huts where you grab some grub and a few hours’ sleep in a basic dorm. You then leave in the wee small hours, to reach a summit while the avalanche risk is at its lowest.

Yes, there’s a dormitory (super-luxe) sleeping 14 in single and double beds. But there are also 16 sumptuous hotel rooms and four spacious apartments. You’re already almost at the summit of Solaise, so if you do happen to wake up at 4am, there’s no need to rush. Just snuggle deeper beneath your duvet and dream of that first breakfast run.

YOU’LL NEVER FORGET

Watching the sun set as the pisteurs herd the final skiers homewards, and you stay in these magnificent surroundings.

Ski Solutions (020 3944 3302; skisolutions. com) has seven nights at Le Refuge de Solaise from £1,535pp, including flights, breakfast and transfers. It’s worth getting a guide. We recommend Raphael Evin (info@prosneige.fr) on-piste and Patrick Zimmer (patzim73@gmail.com) off-piste

Peter Hardy

i It’s all downhill (in a good way) when you are staying at Le Refuge de Solaise in Val d’Isère