Pluviometre takes you into the heart of Val Thorens where the options are endless for to choose your next run. We took the Moutiere lift, from where we skied the wide Altiport, Lagopede and Gentiale blue runs back to the Moutiere lift, thanks to @emilyshipway for recommening this area. We then went back up Moutiere lift and skied down Linotte (blue) and Traverse des 2 Lacs (green) to the Porteite lift. At this point it did not seem too cold but this all changed during the journey on Portette. Going over a small ridge the temperature seemed to drop 10 degrees and freeze every water molecule in my body. After some hurried pictures of the amazing view we skied the long the red run Portette down to the mountain restaurant Fabrique for a body warming vin chaud.

After warming the cockles the next stop was Val Thorens latest additions, the covered Magic Carpets (a tunnelled converyor belt). Absolute genuis idea and surely must catch on in other resorts. Obviously we had to try them out. We then headed to the Funitel Peclet lift which would take us to 2950m, as unfortunately the Glacier chair lift was closed. Spending some time to enjoy the view we skied the fantastic Beranger (red) run back down into Val Thorens for lunch, stopping to watch some freestyle skiers jumping into a large inflatable safety matress. Thanks to @Laradunn for recommending La Cabane for lunch but unfortunately we didn’t make it that far up. We ate lunch at the La Galoubet restaurant where a pizza and salad (yet again) cost 26 euros, 5 euros more than the exact same meal in the centre of Les Menuires.

With the day drawing closer to the end we decided to head back to Reberty, this was done by first taking the Plein Sud chair lift, then a short ski down to the Bouquetin Funitel back to the Col de la Chambre. From here we skied down the mogully end of day David Douillet (red) back into Reberty and straight into the hot tub.

Considering the lack of recent snow the ski conditions are really good, especally the higher you go (full marks to the snow cannons and pisteurs). Unfortunately not all the runs are open (currently you can’t ski back to Les Menuires from Val Thorens without getting a lift) but as the season progresses and hopefully with some more snow things can only get better (as D-ream once sang).

Check out our youtube site for a video snow report from Val Thorens…

Alpine Elements, specializing in the organization of resort holidays, recently started an innovative campaign. The targeted audience of the initiative is ‘Star Wars’ fans worldwide. Alpine Elements believes that ‘Star Wars’ fans will be interested in visiting Avoriaz in the French Alps. This French mountain resort is home to ‘Star Wars’ – a ski run which runs from Avoriaz to the tiny hamlet of Ardent.

Owner James Hardiman remarks, “Alpine Elements wants each of our customers to get as much as possible from their holiday. We thought that the ‘Star Wars’ ski run would add an extra special touch to any fan’s winter holiday. If you’re a ‘Star Wars’ lover, could you ever find a better ski run than this one in Avoriaz?”

James Hardiman quickly points out, “Of course, Avoriaz has much more to offer than a single run. Avoriaz was the first resort to offer snowboarding in the 90s. This charming resort is still a popular location for the sport.”

To learn more about the ‘Star Wars’ ski run in Avoriaz, contact or if you’re planning a skiing or snowboarding holiday in the French Alps, contact Alpine Elements.

All this talk of the Star Wars ski run in Avoriaz got us thinking about other fun piste names. Twitter us the best ones via www.twitter.com/skiconcierge.

As you’ll see it’s actually the largest ski areas that come out top in the value for money ranking. You’ll pay only €0.32 for every km of piste you have access to in the Portes de Soleil, compared to €1.77 for every km in the much smaller resort of Puy-St-Vincent. Obviously it’s highly unlikely that even the most experienced skiers will ski every one of the 650kms of piste in Les Portes du Soleil in a week and likewise for beginners the slopes of Puy may provide more than enough variety for a weeks skiing in which case the €133 price tag may be pretty appealing. If you’re after a mix of a reasonably priced lift pass coupled with plenty of piste then Les Sybelles looks to be a pretty good option.

Next time we’ll take a look at the resorts in Austria to see how they compare…

Usually I take a deep breath and just ignore it, but sometimes, usually with hangover, I start fighting back and blocking their path or skiing after them. This obviously is something to be avoided as dangerous behaviour on the mountain can quickly get your ski ticket pulled away from you.

So here are some tips on how to avoid ski rage on your next ski holiday, and hopefully have a friendlier time with your fellow skiers.

1. Don’t ski too fast. You may think you’re as safe as anything flying down the mountain because you’ve been skiing for years and love it, and obviously the point of skiing is to enjoy it. But just ensure you match your level and speed of skiing to the level slope that you’re on. If you’re on a wide red or challenging black then fine, you can push your speed. But heading into resort on a nice beginners green or blue slope means you should slow down and take care around other people. Don’t forget they’ll be nervous about people whizzing past them and do you want to be responsible for them crashing.
2. Try and stick to pistes that you know you can tackle. We all like a challenge and the only way to get better will be to try harder pistes, but don’t try and impress your friends by trying the hard black when you’ve only just learnt to snow plough. Believe me, I speak from years of experience of trying to do too hard runs, they always end in tears! If you do want to try a tougher run then the best place to be is in a lesson with an experienced instructor. Speak to your instructor at the start of the lesson and tell him what you want to try. If he’s confident about you and the rest of the group he’ll probably oblige.
3. Don’t go down closed trails. The pisties are so experienced in what they do, and they wouldn’t want to close a piste if they didn’t have to. No matter how good a skier you think you are, don’t ever take the risk. In France if there is a  Piste Non Dame sign (piste not bashed) then although the piste looks closed you are able to ski down it, it’ll just be like skiing off piste (so be warned.) If the piste is closed it will say clearly so.
4. My worst bug bear is lift queue jumping, just don’t do it, it’s not worth it, it’s annoying and completely rude. End of!
5. Lift etiquette. You will be getting on lifts with people you don’t know, sometimes children. Ensure you leave enough room for everyone, some can be tight. If you’re obviously with children or beginners then be helpful, pull down the bar for them and make sure they have enough room when they get off.
6. Remember your piste etiquette. Those in front of you have right of way. You’ve got to avoid them, not them avoiding you, so check when you’re crossing trails, turning, stopping etc.

So, if we all try and remember the above 6 rules, then hopefully there will be no need for that ski rage incident this year, and the slopes should become a safer and friendlier place.