H-ice Society

THE first time we walked round the centre of Courmayeur we thought we'd come to the wrong place.

What most of us expect from a ski resort centre is not much more than bars, pizzerias, ski shops-and more bars.

What you get in Courmayeur is designer clothes shops, art galleries and jewellers that could make Bond Street look low-rent.

"Who buys this stuff," we wondered, as we surveyed handbags that cost more than our holiday and watches you wouldn't wear without Securicor covering your back.

Having arrived late on a Sunday, we hadn't yet discovered that Courmayeur is really two resorts. In the WEEK it's a regular, if chocolate-box pretty, ski town where tourists from all over Europe enjoy reliable snow, good skiing and friendly local welcome.

At WEEKENDS it's the playground of rich Milanese who swoop in on Friday in their flashy 4x4s and spend two days swanning about in floor-length furs accessorised with tiny dogs and huge sunglasses while they shop, sunbathe and shout at each other.

It's fascinating to watch. Fortunately, despite sporting enough Chanel ski gear to make Posh look understated, not many of them seem to be keen on putting ski to snow.

But the restaurants do get busy-so you might want to book if you're planning to eat out at weekends.

The skiing itself is very good-almost as good as the scenery. Courmayeur sits at the foot of 4,810m Mont Blanc -or Monte Bianco, as the locals prefer to call it-and the views of the Alps' highest peak are jaw-dropping.

Picnic

You catch the cable car up to the base area of Plan Checrouit. It's best to hire your skis from one of the shops up here because they'll store them overnight so you won't need to carry them up and down from your hotel every day.

We hired skis and boots from the Alpineve shop, and they were incredibly helpful. Even though it was busy, we were sorted out with quality gear in minutes.

Crystal uses the well-regarded Monte Bianco Ski School who meet at Plan Checrouit. Group lessons are typically five three-hour sessions beginning at 10am. Or intermediates can book half-day ski clinics.

Courmayeur offers enough variety to keep most holiday skiers happy. There's about 100km of piste and, while the slopes are a little light on opportunities at the extreme ends of the skill spectrum, it's brilliant for intermediates.

Our favourite runs were the network of reds on the Plan de la Gabba, and those heading down to Zerotta. It's less crowded and higher at the top, so has better snow. If you start from the top of the Youla cable car, the highest point in the resort, you can ski 9km without stopping.

At 1,450m the resort is high, and the slopes run from 2,763m, but 80 per cent of the piste is covered by snow cannons, just in case.

One of the special things about Courmayeur is its mountain restaurants. Our favourites were Christiania's at Plan Checrouit for great (and great value) pizza and pasta, served in a very Italian atmosphere of barely organised mayhem; and Chiecco beside the drag lift of the same name for quality home-made food. At about thirty quid a head it wasn't cheap, but we compensated by having takeaway toasted panini on the hire shop terrace the next day.

Explore

If you fancy exploring further afield the lift pass includes two days skiing in any of the other Val d'Aosta areas. The neighbouring resort of La Thuile is only a half-hour bus ride away. From here you can ski into the French resort of La Roisiere.

You can also ski one day in Pila, about 45 minutes away. This pretty little resort is linked by gondola to Aosta, the Roman town that gives the valley its name. Here you'll find great shopping, and unlike Courmayeur, sub-WAG prices.

If you want to avoid the trial by elbow that can characterise the local bus links, you might want to sign up for the day trips to Pila and Chamonix organised by Crystal, who also provide free ski guiding three days a week.

Advanced party animals will also find no shortage of variety in Courmayeur. We soon got into the routine of an apres ski/pre dinner drink or two at one of the many lovely bars in the resort's narrow, cobbled streets.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Viale, a small family-run place typical of Italian ski resorts. There was plenty of choice at the buffet breakfast and the four course evening meal.

Rooms are a little basic for a three-star but that's more than compensated for by the awesome views of Mont Blanc from the large balconies.

And the town centre bars are only a 10-minute stroll away.

Or 30 seconds in your Audi A8, if you can afford to go shopping!

GETTING THERE

CRYSTAL SKI offer seven nights half board in the three-star Hotel Del Viale from £555 per person including flights from Gatwick to Turin and transfers.

Flights from eight other UK airports are available at an additional cost starting from £10. Call Crystal Ski on 0871 231 2256 or book online and get £50 discount per adult by visiting www.crystalski.co.uk

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