Tis the Ski'son

Yes! The snow is falling and we can go skiing - fabulous! To celebrate these chilly times, we thought we'd do a quick round up of our top Skiing destinations for Busy Girls in a 3 part series. This month sees

Part 1 - Viva la France!

Parlez-vous ski'lish?

Perfect for those quick getaways, France really has it all when it comes to skiing.

Convenience It's close to home (at less than 10 hours drive / 3 hours flight)
Language of love We can string a sentence together if necessary - 'je voudrais un vin chaud, s'il vous plait'
Cool it Snow is practically guaranteed from January, with some of the highest mountains in Europe
Glacial spaces If it's too warm for comfort, France's glacial resorts provide snow capped mountains all year round

Best for...

Beginners

Beginners should look out for the number of blue & green pistes available, the quality of ski instructors & the proximity of the nursery slope to the resort.

We suggest you try Les Arcs, which has nursery slopes directly above each of the resort's main villages. The village Arc 1800 has the most variety. Les Arcs also has a free beginner's lift, plus a good range of more advanced slopes as you progress. The best ski school is the award winning British run New Generation in Vallandry & their friendly instructors will give confidence to the most timid of beginners.

Look out for... hotels & apartments close to the slopes. Book ski lessons for the morning, so you can have the afternoon for a little lunch & a gentle practice.

Intermediates & Experts

If you're a more experienced skier, you'll be looking for a bigger ski area, higher mountains for guaranteed snow & some real variety, so you can get some extensive practice in.

We recommend more experienced skiers try Courchevel (part of the Three Valleys Ski Area) with access to 600km of downhill skiing, with 573 individual pistes, served by 200 ski lifts. Fly to Chambery airport - taking a transfer to your hotel. Courchevel is on three levels, 1450, 1650 & 1850 the most expensive being 1850. We recommend staying in 1650 for reasonable accomodation & easy access to the slopes by lift or bus.

Snowboarders

You'll want space to curve your way down the mountain this winter with long slopes & fresh powder in smooth style - that's why Chamonix is going to be perfect for you. The slopes of Chamonix are pretty hard core, but with skiers sporting fat skis, you know your board is going to be floating down those slopes. The black home run down from Brevent is a fabulous end to a really satisfying day.

To get to Chamonix fly into Geneva, & transfer to by coach. Iglu ski (www.igluski.com) have a range of fantastic offers to Chamonix for the 07/08 season.

We hope you have a fabulous time wherever you choose - in Part two, we'll be giving you the lowdown on skiing USA - whoo ha!

Busy Girls Guide x

PS> Yes, that's Lucy looking mightily attractive freezing her head off - but look at that smile - she says skiing is the way forward!