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Springtime in the mountains

21st May 2012, by Dave Watts

Party time at the Folie Douce in Val d’Isère this April

When I tell people at my golf club in late March or April that I’m off skiing again, they usually look at me in amazement and ask whether there’s any snow left, especially if we’ve had a freakishly warm March here in the UK as we did this year.

Many skiers also see mid-March as the end of the ski season. That’s madness because in my view late March and April are great times to go skiing. The days are longer, the sun is stronger, the slopes are quieter and the snow is usually good so long as you are in the right place at the right time. Aim for high altitude resorts, preferably with plenty of north-facing slopes.

If it’s warm and sunny, as it often is, the pistes are usually hard first thing and slushy by 2pm or so. Off-piste is the same. But both on and off-piste offer excellent spring snow if you catch the slopes just as they are beginning to thaw, when the consistency of the snow becomes almost like sugar and is delightful to ski – almost as delightful as powder. Start early, head for east- and south-facing slopes first thing, then north-facing – if you don’t know the area, having a guide with local knowledge helps a lot (and is essential for off-piste). Plan on having a late lunch around 1.30pm or 2pm and not doing much skiing afterwards unless, like editor Gill, you enjoy skiing in slush. But it’s not always sunny and I’ve had some great March and April powder days nearly every season that I can remember.

This season, I had a fabulous week’s holiday in Courchevel 1650 in late March, with powder at the start and spring skiing after the first couple of days. The local snow was so good we saw no need to go all the way to Val Thorens for its famously good spring snow. Then I joined editor Gill for the latter part of his six-week road trip round the Alps and Dolomites. We had hot sunny days (and evenings – you could sit out till 7pm enjoying the sun some days) and good skiing in the Monterosa area of Italy, La Thuile in Italy and the Grand Massif in France (staying in the traditional family resort of Les Carroz rather than purpose-built Flaine). And in mid-April I ended my season with my Daily Mail hat on joining almost 100 readers of Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard magazine on a reader holiday to Val d’Isère – where we got fresh snow again and enjoyed some excellent powder despite variable visibility. We were staying in Le Ski chalets and Le Ski MD Nick Morgan and I even got a round of golf in at Lyon golf club before flying home.

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