The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
How to make the most of Europe’s bumper snowfall
With this week’s ski conditions likely to last, Nick Trend reveals where to go and when to book for the best deals
“It’s snowing like billy-o,” reported one happy Telegraph reader on holiday this week in La Plagne. And, having got off to a great start with big falls in December (interspersed, it has to be said, with plenty of blue days), more heavy snow and cold temperatures have set this winter up as a classic in the Alps. As our snow specialist Patrick Thorne says: “These are some of the best January conditions in years.”
If you haven’t yet booked, it’s time to get organised. All operators are reporting strong demand – chalet specialist Le Ski says it is already more than 80 per cent booked for the whole winter. There are only a couple more weeks before the February peak, and an early Easter means there are fewer quiet weeks than usual in March. Here are some key questions to consider.
WHERE
It’s a rosy picture across much of the skiing world. The French Alps, especially Chamonix, Flaine and the Tarentaise valley resorts (including La Plagne, Les Arc and Les Trois Vallées), are under a heavy blanket of snow. In Austria, St Anton and the Arlberg region have the best conditions; St Moritz in Switzerland has a base more than 150cm deep after recent snow; and there are good conditions right across Scandinavia.
Italy had a thinner time of it in December, but things have now improved all round – check individual resorts before booking or our latest snow report (see p10). In the Rockies, after a dry start, conditions are looking better with the arrival of huge storms.
WHEN
For those travelling without school-age children, there are two sweet spots: departures up to the weekend of Feb 3 and 4, when you know the snow will be good; and the two weeks between March 9 and 23. Half term, and to some extent Easter, complicate the rest of the calendar, putting pressure on flights and accommodation, and vastly increasing the numbers on the slopes.
In the UK, many schools break up for half term on Friday Feb 9. You can see the effect on the easyJet (easyjet.com) website – a return fare to Geneva from Feb 10-17, with hold luggage, is peaking at £1,200. Some education authorities have set Feb 16 instead, and finding flights and packages is easier for that weekend (Crystal Ski (crystalski.co.uk) still has some availability that week). That easyJet fare also drops to £300.
This year Paris schools break up from Feb 10 to 26, though there will still be plenty of French children on the slopes until March 10, because other regions then follow Paris. In Austria, the big week starts on Feb 3 (for Vienna and Vorarlberg) but all schools will have gone back by the end of February.
Easter skiing is less popular with the French, Austrians and Italians, so the impact on the resorts is lower, influencing the cost of flights and packages from the UK. Most state schools break up on March 28 and airfares over the Easter weekend are already looking prohibitive. Private schools, which break up on March 22, will have the advantage.
HOW
The general overview is one thing, but availability with different operators is variable – it all depends on what flights and other travel options they offer, and on the demand in individual resorts.
Inghams (inghams.co.uk) and self-catering specialist Erna Low (ernalow. co.uk) both say they have some options from the week of Feb 24. Peak Retreats (peakretreats.co.uk) suggests La Rosière and Montgenèvre in France for departures on March 16.
Among the chalet specialists, Purple Ski (purpleski.com) has some availability for Jan 28 and Feb 4 in Méribel and Val d’Isère. The specialist agent Ski Solutions (skisolutions.com), which deals with a broad selection of operators, picks out March 9 and 16 as the best weeks for availability overall. So, your best bet is to act spontaneously and grab a deal now, or wait until March and hope for a cold, snowy February.