Budget Skiing

Article by: Nicola Williams, January 2008

Take Sunday. Admittedly I wasn't shooting adrenaline on Val d'Isère's Olympic La Face or quaffing cocktails with the chi-chi set in Verbier. But I did ski all day for €15.80 (US$23.50), eat a crêpe up the mountain for €2.90 (US$4.30) and invest just €20 (US$29.50) from my piggybank in ski hire.

Most stations familiales (family resorts) cater to a more local than international crowd, meaning it's never too late to book.

Small stations familiales (family resorts) are a dime a dozen in France and Switzerland and lure more skiers without kids than with. Most cater to a more local than international crowd, meaning it's never too late to book - accommodation is almost always available and, as the ski season moves towards late March and early April, you can pick up some fantastic bargains.

Self-catering is the budget way to go. Unless you're a big group, forget chalet accommodation or, mon dieu, that Brit-targeted concept of catered chalets. The French way of ski-swanking on the cheap is to stuff as many as allowed in an apartment scarcely large enough to swing a pole in - pray you're not part of the pair billetted to the sofa bed. When booking, bear in mind that 'two-room apartment' translates as one bedroom with kitchen-dining room-lounge; 'three-room' means two bedrooms etc. Ski resort tourist offices have updated lists of self-catering accommodation and many run an accommodation booking service - handy for those with no local lingo to speak of.

Swiss apartments include fondue and raclette sets in the kitchen, but in France you'll need to nip to the local fromagerie. Buy three hunks of local Comté, Beaufort and Gruyère to bubble up in the pot or several dozen slices of raclette to melt over potatoes and the fromager will lend you a pot or machine for free. Don't forget the local vin de pays or vin de table (table wine) - cheap as chips.

Photographs are rarely needed on ski passes, meaning gourmets who lunch to 4pm and night owls in bed till noon can feasibly share them.

Before hitting the slopes, tot up how much everyone in your party will really ski. Photographs are rarely needed on ski passes, meaning gourmets who lunch to 4pm and night owls in bed till noon can feasibly share them. In Switzerland generous ski-pass discounts for kids suddenly render top resorts like Zermatt (under 9s free, under 16s free on Saturday) surprisingly affordable for families.

Finally, know what your own health insurance covers before hiring kit and purchasing passes. Punters are routinely offered insurance to cover things like ski loss or theft and emergency mountain rescue, but if your insurance already covers such things you can save a bit of cash.

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