Peter Hardy offers a month-by-month briefing on where to head for the best snow, at the best prices.

DECEMBER - for early promise

This is the true start of the ski season, but not all low- or even medium-altitude destinations can be assured of snow. The number of European resorts where I would book a Christmas holiday is increasingly limited. Both the US and Canadian Rockies are more reliable than the Alps.

Christmas and New Year are expensive and crowded. But the week beginning December 15/16 is, by contrast, well-priced and people-free, although not all areas will be fully open yet.

Where to ski this month

Austria: Ischgl, Obertauern, Sölden
France: Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes, Tignes, Val d'Isère, Val Thorens
Finland: Levi
Italy: Cervinia, Livigno, Passo Tonale
Switzerland: Davos
US: Beaver Creek/Vail, Copper Mountain, Keystone
Canada: Fernie and Whistler

Booking strategy

Christmas and New Year need to be booked well in advance. For earlier weeks, wait and see where the snow falls before committing your money. For example, St Anton is normally a safe bet in December, but last year it failed to attract a single flake during the first half of the month.

JANUARY – for cold days and late deals

January is suffering from an identity crisis. What used to be a time of low prices and uncrowded slopes was undermined last season by poor snow cover in Europe.
But that's not the kernel of the problem. Newly rich Russians, Serbs and their neighbours now head to the likes of Courchevel and Kitzbühel in search of fun and snow over the Orthodox Christmas and New Year holidays during the first half of the month. In the most popular big-name resorts it's hard to find a hotel room or a table — and prices have risen accordingly.
An alternative is to head for a quiet resort, west to North America or east to Japan.

Where to ski this month

Andorra: Arinsal /La Massana, Soldeu
Austria: Alpbach, Bad Gastein, Lech/Zürs, St Anton, Wagrain, Zell-am-See
France: Les Arcs, Chamonix, Courchevel, Flaine, Méribel, Serre Chevalier
Italy: Kronplatz, Madonna di Campiglio, La Thuile
Switzerland: St Moritz, Verbier
US: Aspen, Jackson Hole, Taos, Park City, Deer Valley, The Canyons
Canada: Big White, Sun Peaks, Silver Star
Japan: Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu
Booking strategy
For Europe, play the waiting game. Discounts appear earlier and earlier each winter as the larger operators lose their nerve over the volume of holidays that remain unsold. It also makes sense to see how the snow lies before committing yourself.

FEBRUARY – despite the high prices

This is the time to find the best snow of the winter, the highest prices, and the biggest crowds. But my advice is to give the French Alps a miss altogether during the half-term bunfight (February 9 and 16), which clashes with French school holidays. There are plenty of better places in which to enjoy a family break at a more reasonable price.

President's Weekend (February 14) is the start of the busiest North American week, but the volume of visitors even to Whistler and Vail is negligible compared with the crowds in the Trois Vallées.

Where to ski this month

Austria: Ellmau. Kitzbühel, Neustift, St Anton, Westendorf
France: Avoriaz, Les Gets, Megève, Morzine, Sainte-Foy, Samoens
Italy: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Corvara, Courmayeur, Sauze d'Oulx, San Cassiano, Selva, Sestriere
Spain: Baqueira-Beret
Sweden: Are
Norway: Hemsedal
Romania: Poiana Brasov Slovenia: Bohinj, Kranjska Gora, Krvavec
Switzerland: Klosters, Mürren, Champéry
US: Alta/Snowbird, Heavenly, Stowe, Squaw Valley, Sun Valley
Canada: Kicking Horse, Red Resort

Booking strategy

If you want the best chalets and the pick of the hotels you need to book months — in some cases even a year — in advance. Certainly you must hit the phone straight away if you have not yet booked for February 2008.
Flights, too, are hard to come by for the half-term weeks. Before booking, make sure that ski school and kindergarten places are still available.

MARCH – for spring snow

Normally tour operators have a problem filling beds in March, despite the fact that the days are longer and warmer and snow conditions are some of the best of the winter. However in 2008 the Easter holiday falls at its earliest possible date — Good Friday is on March 21.
With the onset of spring, the snowline is now creeping up the mountain. The lower resorts in Austria and elsewhere are in their final weeks and you can expect slushy conditions at valley level as the month progresses.

Where to ski this month

Austria: Mayrhofen. Niederau, Saalbach-Hinterglemm
Bulgaria: Bansko
France: Châtel, Barèges, La Plagne, Serre Chevalier
Germany: Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Italy: Arabba, Canazei, Champoluc, Ortisei
Norway: Trysil
Spain: Sierra Nevada
Switzerland: Andermatt, Arosa, Laax/Flims
US: Big Sky, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Taos, Telluride
Canada: Banff/Lake Louise, Kimberley, Panorama, Tremblant.

Booking strategy

March 22/23 is the busiest week and consequently the most expensive, with little chance of discounts. March 8/9 is the best value, with prices liable to drop further nearer to departure dates.

APRIL – save the best for last

Mass-market tour operators like to start shutting up shop two weeks after Easter, which in 2008 takes us to only April 5. But there is still excellent skiing to be found throughout the month.
In recent years winter has shifted forward by at least a fortnight and some of the biggest snowfalls have been in April. However, at modest altitudes the pistes tend to turn to slush by late morning, making conditions difficult for learners.

Only in the highest resorts will you find guaranteed good conditions that will last until early May, when the last lifts close for the season.

Where to ski this month

Austria: Hintertux, Kaprun, Sölden, Obergurgl, Obertauern,
France: Chamonix, Val d'Isère/Tignes, Les Deux Alpes, La Grave, Val Thorens, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Vaujany
Italy: Bormio, Passo Tonale, Val Senales
Switzerland: Saas-Fee, Verbier, Zermatt,
US: Mammoth, Killington
Canada: Whistler

Booking strategy

As the month progresses, it becomes more difficult to find package deals and booking DIY on the internet may produce the best bargains. Good snow cover in these higher resorts is a certainty, so there's little advantage in leaving it until the last minute.

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