WINTER 2014/15 TL1 L’V’V tU\J WAIUN( ALt It’s the l5Oth anniversary ofwinter tourisrn in theAlps (introduced by us Brits). Heres how to get more ont ofit than ever before Words MIRE MACEACHERAN Ittustrations WILLIAM GRILL Jeay 55 ____ _____ .,r— ii ‘,. V p f% !r i:;$I: 1 JI . P% % Lfl -I o o C’.’ E o u w Vi I. z ‘4 ‘ L — r’ 4% HOP ON A STREET FOOD BUS If street food is a gimmick, then someone didn’t teli the Frcneh. Arêches-Beaufort doesn’tjust have a food van, but a single-decker bus instead. This small rcsort, 25km from Albertville in the Savoie region of france, is home to Le Bus Gourmet, a pop-tip restaurant that’s taking ski lii siope food to the extreme. Next to the Grand Mont siope, owners Michel and François prepare dishes based on local Savoyard cheesc and charcuterie. Mternatively, in Megève, h restaurant W Christomet has its otvn food van, serving paninis and sandwiches un the Jaillet siope (look out fur the deckchairs); ‘hlle thc back-countn’ village ofOrelle (in a valley next to Val Thorens) bas THE CHEA? HEUSKI ON a pop-up where Anne-Marie serves thin-crust pizzas at the bollom of Theres something about the idea of the gondula. The trend for frozen jumping in a helicopter that causes the street fuod starts here. kind of can’t-slcep-won’t-sleep hysteria you o icches-bcuoJbrt.com; havent feit since Christmas as a kid. No mcgeve.com; oretlc.net longer just for lottety wiimers, heliskiing is now available in the Tarentaise Valley for just £SOpp (based on four people sharing) with British-ntn outfit Val 1-Ieliskiing. It’s called Ureverse heliskiing” hecause, after * a day of off-piste, the chopper swoops in to pick you tip. This means you can ex1ore french resorts such as Val dlsère, Tignes, La Rosière, Les Arcs, La Plagne and the Three Valleys at a snip ut the price. vaihetiski.com 56 Jet2.com WINTER 2014/15 GET INTIMATE IN A CABLE CAR How do you say, “Can I boy you a drink?” in French? That’s the phrase to swot up On before Singles Week, a speed-dating event on the siopes of the Three Vailcys’ resort of Brides-les-Bains (its naine atone is a teaser for singletons). The event runs for a week in the iead-up to Vaientine’s Day (when else?), and planned activities for the lovelorn include dating nights and tnorning-after snowboarding trips frein the Olympe gondola. The phrase you’ll need is: “Puis-je t’eus offrir un verre?” savoie-rnont-blunc.com 1 301N PRINCE HARRY If otir favourite prince’s most recent ski trips are anything to go by then yott’ll find liim here SNOWSHOE WITH A LLAMA forget the rules about skiing with just your friends. You can now go riding with an eagle ftying by your side in Morzine (where bird fanatic Jacques Olivier Travers takes to the siopes with bis American bald eagle, Victor), or siipping and siiding through the snow’ with a Ilama in Valloire. Mountain guide Gilles and his flufi South Arnerican pack animais Tin and Tehupango lead the VERBIER, KLOSTERS, tvay (from £15). SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA KAZAKHSTAN zvinte,rnorzine-uvoriuz.co,n UatlOi1L’.flet JetAway 57 WINTER 2014/15 - 1f I ‘s DO THE TOBLERONE Reseinbling nothing so rnuch as a giant chocolate bar, the jagged-cdged Matterhorn dorninates the Italian resort ofBreuil-Cervmia. Ski down it from the 3,899rn-high Gohba di Rollin draglift that tops the vast ski arca, which it shares with Zcrmatt across the Swiss border, As it happens, Breuil-Cervinia has the best snow record in Italy and the highest lifts in Europe — yet rnost non-pros have neyer heard ofit. Better stili, it’s now easily accessible from Turin,Jet2.com’ ntwest ski hub, with flights from Manchester. ecrein ia.it EATA REINDEER Sorne Swedes sud finns ma disapprove, --‘ but for an unusual burger at altitude, try i I the Caron Freeride Café in Val Thorens, rt’ the highest resort in the French Alps. It serves Scandinavian reindecr burgers toppcd with french girolle mushroorns at 3200m. If that’s too gamey for your taste, GET STAR-STRUCK IN LES ARCS try the bison meat patty or, at Les Crozet in Val dïsère, order a rsti burger, which Seven cinemas in s traditionai Alpine is made with horse steak sud cornes in resort is pushing il s bit, but when vou’ve ii a potato bun. What horse-meat scandai? got the sixth annual European Film Festival vtxlthorens.com; valdisere.eorn (13-20 Decem ber,) to organise they do corne in handy. Artistic director frédéric Boyer thinks so, too, and his team returns to Les Arcs. france, with more than 100 films and 10 European premieres, as weli as Q&A sessions with fiimmakers and actors. This tear the focus is on films from Ireland, so if hardcore ski native Liam Neeson drops j in fora cameo appearance then you read it here flrst. “I will look for you, I wilI find You and I will chili you...” etc. tesa rcs-filrnfrst.corn 58 Jet2.com Jet200uciays I SKI OFF A CLIFF (AND SURVIVE) Some of the best things in life are free. / Like the Freeride World Tour for instance. 4. 4 It’s the newest, craziest Alpine sport, in 4 whicb oniy the most unhinged riders compete down near-vertical siopes at high spceds — ail the while doing the kinds of tricks ou’d epect to sec Louis Smith bust out in an Olympic gym nastics final. Sec the lunacy for yourself on the pistes ofCbamonix in France (24 Joncery), Kitzhuhel in Austria (31 ,ïanuarij) and the event’s newest European ieg, Valinord Arcalis in Andorra (14 February), ficeric1eworldtourcorn $IND OUT wwt L ITALIANS DO IT SETTER France has the purpose-huiit ski factories (Avoriaz and La Plagne), Austria bas the loud, boozv après-ski (drinking beer straight from ski boots in St Anton is almost mandatoiy). Italy, on the other hand, has a refined collection ofresorts where food and style are high on the agenda. Pick 0f the bunch are world farnous Courmayeur at the foot of Mont Blanc, and the traditional villages of La Thuile, Champoluc and Gressoney, which make up the heart cf the expansive Monterosa area. Handily, they’re ail in the stunning Ansta Valley and can be ticked off withtn the same week. Farther east, check ont Cortina in the Dolomites where wcalthy Milanese in D&G snow gear (with matching poodies) stroil the Corso at dusk. Strange, but truc. / uosta-vatteg.co.uk;cortina.dotomiti.org Jetftway 59 WINTER 2014/15 * $ I+ A SHOOT JAMES BLUNT Love him or loathe him, the man who single-handedly prevented World War 111 while in Kosovo as a cavahy officer fat least according to a BBC interview) kicks off the winter in Ischgl in Austria on 29 November. Following Robbie Williams’ end ofseason swing-a-long in May, anti Elton, Kylie ami Rihanna doing their thing in previous years, the singer-songwri ter is a big deal for the Austrian ravers. He’s an experienced snow-hound with a chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, so expect the paparazzi to be out in force snapping him on the siopes, and plenty of opportunities to grab a Bec utiful selfie with him. iaehgl.com # HASHTAG THIS What flot ta miss titis winter DISCOVER THE BEST RESORT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD 0F 4 5OTH BIRTHDAYS Up-and-coming Andorra in the Pyrences is a three-hour It’s party time in france: Les drive from Barcelona, and the resort ofArinsal has 65km Menuires, Saint-Martin-de of pistes, 30 lifts and a teeny one per cent ofthe ski traffic Belleville, Les Portes du Soleil and that the rest ofEurope gets (welI, something like that). Plaine-Joux ail turn 50 years olci. Stili, at 2,560m, it’s as snow-sure as the best ofthem, and an oh-so-quiet place to learn or enjoy your first ski trip. BOBSLEIGH WORLD CUP Just don’t get aIl tongue-eyed and confuse its narne tvith The Olympic Bobsieigh rttn in La the English football team. It’s pronouncedAr-in-sal. lA Plagne hosts this exciting sledge-off, with competitors from more than 20 countries tackling its 9 hends. FLy te Barcetona (Andorra), Chambery, Geneva, Grenohe, Sazbury, Turn and Verona with Jet2.com f26.hznuary — I Februarij). 60 Jet2.com Jet2hol,days.