Page 4: Travel low-season, where to improve

REDISCOVER SWITZERLAND

Switzerland? Switzerland? What’s new and mould-breaking about that? Well, plenty, actually. In our current infatuation with all things French, we seem to have forgotten about this quintessential Alpine country. Many mainstream operators have all but dropped it from their brochures, and prices, thanks to the lack of interest and a strengthening pound, have drifted downhill. Over the past 10 years, they’ve fallen 20%.

That’s not to say it’s dirt cheap — especially in the two resorts that have managed to preserve their celebrity, Zermatt and Verbier. But if you set it against the likes of Val d’Isère and Courchevel, you will find it increasingly good value — and, usually, quieter. St Moritz is a perfect example.

Once a favourite of upper-class Brits, it’s been increasingly abandoned by them in recent years, and two of its three mountains — Corvatsch and Diavolezza — are barely used on weekdays. Don’t come here if powder is your thing — the Engadine Valley, in which the resort lies, is famous for its cold, sunny, dry climate. But if you like high-speed cruising on well-maintained pistes, you’re going to have a blast. Inghams (www.inghams.co.uk) has a week at the four-star Hotel Monopol for £711pp.

TAKE A ROAD TRIP

It may seem like a silly idea to spend valuable skiing time at the wheel, travelling between resorts, but if you can spare, say, 10 days, then a road trip will treble the sense of adventure. What’s more, sampling several resorts means that none of them needs to be especially big — which means you can avoid the kind of mega-systems that have become the cliché of our times.

Canada is the perfect setting for such a journey, linking the new generation of resorts that sprinkles the British Columbia/ Alberta border. Fly into Calgary, pick up a blizzard-busting 4WD, then let the road unwind: you’re unlikely ever to see more empty country, or to ski more rootsy, low-key resorts. Just be sure to take a stack of CDs: this part of the world seems to have only one radio station.

A 10-day trip, taking in the resorts of Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Panorama and Fernie, costs £1,337pp, room-only, including 4WD hire, through Frontier Ski (www.frontier-travel.co.uk).

TRY A SMALLER RESORT

Bigger is not always better. Smaller resorts offer a narrower range of pistes, but who really needs a million miles of mid-tempo cruising? Having fewer runs to choose from means you can focus on what really matters — letting rip and pushing the limits of your technique. And, as smaller ski stations are almost always less fashionable and less visited than their megaplex neighbours, you’re going to have more room and more time in which to experiment.

Besides, these villages don’t exist in isolation. In the Alps, you’re never more than an hour from the next resort, so if you take your own car, or hire one, you can always commute to the neighbouring mountain in search of new terrain (many tour operators also organise day excursions to nearby resorts).

So, this year, why not go small — and spend the money you’ve saved on extra tuition? Saas-Fee, in Switzerland, for example, is only a valley away from Zermatt, and far less frenetic; it’s also home to one of the most satisfying top-to-bottom intermediate descents in the Alps. Erna Low (www.ernalow.co.uk) has self-drive, self-catering holidays there from £146.50pp, based on six sharing a four-room apartment.

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