Courmayeur, Skiing & Snow...

Courmayeur is a great resort for first timers. There are short wide nursery slopes that are ideal for picking up the basics. Then it’s onto the longer blue runs and eventually red runs that spread out all over the mountain. From your first slips and slides on day one it is possible to be descending a red graded run in control by day four or five. Of course good instruction makes all the difference.

Courmayeur is without a doubt a great resort for intermediates! They can enjoy the good variety of terrain types, testing themselves on the tougher stuff and then massaging their egos by cruising effortlessly down a super-wide red run. For added interest you can always head to one of the other resorts covered on the lift pass. These are Flaine and Chamonix in France (you are allowed one day in each), La Thuile, Pila, Cervinia, Gressoney and Champoluc (you are allowed two days in each).

Advanced and expert riders will relish the opportunity to descend via one of the many off-piste itineraries that lead all the way down to the valleys below. Also within the controlled ski area there are pockets of steep off-piste that plunge through the trees. Competizione is the only black graded piste on the mountain and when covered in moguls can prove a worthy test. See if you can hold your rhythm as the run dog legs to the right.

More adventurous riders can hire a guide to help them explore the Mont Blanc Massif on either side of the border. The Mont Blanc cable car departing from Entreves takes you up to Punta Helbronner at 3470m (11385ft) from where one can choose to descend to Chamonix via the Valee Blanche or head back down toward Entreves on a less well beaten trail. Being a glacial region it is highly recommended that you hire a guide when skiing or snowboarding off-piste.