For serious skiers: British Columbia
Imagine there’s a fleet of butterflies in the pit of your stomach. And that your mouth has gone dry, and that you wish you were somewhere else, anywhere, but where you are right now.
This is how British Columbia can make you feel. Standing on a ledge high above the town of Golden, I am peering down a near-vertical slope on the quaintly-named Kicking Horse Pass.
When it opened less than a decade ago, Kicking Horse was billed as the first resort in the world to be built in a generation. This was not strictly true, but the ski area, in a remote corner of BC, has far exceeded all expectations and become a world-class destination with terrain to rival Jackson Hole.
A good base is Copper Horse Lodge, a heavenly little ten-room hotel at the foot of the slopes. Although the skiing at Kicking Horse is mainly for strong intermediates and experts, a chairlift serves the beginners’ area and another lift opens up some less taxing runs on the lower half of the mountain.
There are some great restaurants in town, such as the Dutch-owned Kicking Horse Grill, housed in a pretty log cabin. But Eagle’s Eye (kickinghorseresort.com) is the real reason that many people make the effort to travel all this way. Having built the gondola, the resort owners planted the best mountain restaurant in North America right on the summit. Contemplate the snow-covered mountainside as you feast on roast carrot and butternut squash soup and wild Coho salmon.
The lift offers an easier route down for the less proficient or for those who have eaten and drunk too much at lunchtime. For the brave hearted, sheer black-diamond runs fall away from both sides of the summit ridge to produce some sensational tree and bowl skiing.
Kicking Horse is still unspoilt and refreshingly uncommercial, so catch it while you can. The skiing packs a punch that truly lives up to its reputation as being in one of the world’s most challenging resorts.
Altitude 1,190m-2,450m Season ends 6 April
Seven nights B&B in a de luxe suite at Copper Horse Lodge costs £1,259pp departing 24 March. British Airways flights from Heathrow to Calgary and transfers are included. To book, contact Ski Safari (+44 (0)1273 224 060, skisafari.com) or Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (kickinghorseresort.com).
For family fun: Vaujany, France
This ancient stone village, which clings to the mountainside in one of the poorest regions of France, became unexpectedly wealthy 20 years ago. Land that it owned in the valley below was compulsorily purchased to create France’s largest hydro-electric scheme.
Vaujany spent its windfall on building a giant 160-person cable car to link it into the 83-lift Alpe d’Huez ski area. Villagers swapped their tractors for piste-bashers, and converted their rickety cowsheds into sleek chalets. A gondola takes skiers up from the village, where spring has blossomed and farmers are already out working in the fields, up to Vaujany’s own charming ski area at Montfrais with slopes for beginners and intermediates.
Until late April, the cable car climbs in three stages up to the Pic Blanc at 3,330m where winter is permanent. Don’t miss the thigh-burning champagne run, which takes you down from the summit through a mighty 2,230 vertical metres to the hamlet of L’Enversin d’Oz.
This is where my children learnt to ski and where I choose to go every Easter. One of the reasons is the wonderful contrast between ski slopes and farming hamlets. So far, despite continuing commercial development, Vaujany has managed to entirely retain its rural charm.
The village has most of its accommodation at the higher end of the slopes, with Hotel Rissiou the best place for families. It’s the sort of place kids can race around without fear of disapproval and there’s a special children’s supper sitting. However, my favourite place to stay is the fully-serviced Saskia, a charming stand-alone chalet at the lower end of the village. Its chef Marcus Cull does a herb-crusted loin of lamb with Parmesan polenta and marinated roast vegetable salad so good it brings a tear to the eye. It is also right next door to the village’s indoor swimming pool with slides and flumes.
Non-skiing children are catered for at the Garderie, one of the best nurseries I have come across in a French ski resort. An added bonus is the native-English-speaking nanny provided by tour operator Ski Peak.
Altitude 1,250m-3,330m Season ends 20 April
Seven nights half-board departing 23 or 30 March or 6 April and staying in Chalet Saskia costs £925 per person. BA scheduled flights from Heathrow to Lyon plus resort transfers are included. To book, contact Ski Peak (+44 (0)1428 608 070, skipeak.com) or Vaujany (vaujany.com).
