Which month is the best for a ski holiday?

It depends on who you are and what you are looking to get out of it. But here is the AliKats guide to each month of the ski season…

• December is a great month for quieter pistes, lots of fresh snow and that cosy, Alpine Christmas feeling! The shorter days provide the perfect excuse for snuggling up in front of the log fire with your friends and family whilst warming yourself from within with a glass of vin chaud.
• January is for serious skiiers as it can be pretty cold but the snow base should now be excellent and this means the scope for off-piste skiing is large and varied. After New Year’s week, January is one of the cheapest months of the season. If you are on a budget the 2 weeks just after New Year are a great time to ski as you benefit from cheaper flights and accommodation.
• February is the peak time for families, due to the various European half-term holidays (or ‘vacances de Fevrier’ as they are know in France) and this means the resort is buzzing. It is probably the best month for snow conditions on piste as there has been plenty of building of the base without the warmer weather to start melting it. Avoid the longer queues by exploring the quieter parts of the 650km that the Portes du Soleil has to offer; we recommend the ‘Happy Valley’ in Chatel or Mt Chery in Les Gets.
• March. The days are beginning to get longer and the sun hangs round a bit more, encouraging awesome apres-ski : The Rock the Pistes festival comes to the Portes du Soleil, which involves top-notch bands playing actually on the piste. Children have mostly gone back to school so there are fewer ski-schools snaking their way down the pistes.
• April is our favourite month of all; it’s sometimes like a summer holiday and a winter holiday in one! Long days, lovely spring snow, sunny wine-fuelled lunches lounging in deckchairs. Avoriaz is always open until the end of the 3rd week in April and for 2 out of 3 of the last seasons, we have had thigh deep powder on the last day of the season!