For serious off-piste adventure, there is nowhere to beat the grandeur of Chamonix, set amid spectacular glacial scenery and beneath mont Blanc. the views of the deep glacial crevasses and towering seracs on many of the off-piste runs will take your breath away. a qualified mountain guide and the correct safety equipment are essential, but with those even a confident intermediate can enjoy one of the world’s epic off-piste runs – the Vallée Blanche. it’s 24km long with a vertical drop of 2800m when the lowest part is open, right down to Chamonix. experts can make the run more challenging by taking one of the tougher routes down. there is a huge amount of other challenging terrain too especially from the top of the Grand montets, one of Chamonix’s five ski areas. in late season the north-facing runs here, which keep their snow well, are a joy in warm spring sunshine. the resort also becomes a launch pad for touring expeditions. Other attractions // amazing views on the cable car ride to aiguille du midi – the start of the Vallée Blanche – non-skiers can ride the lift too.
// there’s a local lift pass but the mont Blanc unlimited pass covers Courmayeur in italy and Verbier in switzerland too.
// atmospheric, traditional alpine town with an old, traffic-free centre.
// lots of hotels in all price brackets. // Close to Geneva airport so makes for a great short break.
Super-late snow Mammoth Mountain California, usa
the resort advertises its season as lasting from “approx november till June” but usually tries to keep some runs open until american independence day on 4 July, which it has succeeded in doing for the past two seasons. so if you want a really late fix of the white stuff, this is the place to head for. if you go on a march or april visit you should find lots of great terrain and snow still available. mammoth gets an average annual snowfall of 10m and received more than 15m last season. its slopes are high, with a lot of terrain above 3000m and a base level of around 2500m. most runs have a northerly orientation so
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keep their snow well. in general, the very top section of the mountain has steep chutes and suits experts best but there’s lots of intermediate cruising lower down. the resort itself is fairly spread out and geared to Californian car drivers. For a convenient base, consider the relatively newly-built car-free Village area, which has a gondola to the slopes and a green piste back. Other attractions // one of north america’s bigger ski hills. // trails for all ability levels. // slopes quiet most of the time. // world-class terrain parks and lots of them. // huge choice of resort restaurants.