Starting in the north, budget flights to Geneva combine with rapid transfers to Les Portes du Soleil, best known for Morzine (a large, prosperous valley-floor village with a traditional air) and Avoriaz (poised on a dramatic, lofty escarpment, and with an up-market image), which between them satisfy a large and demanding clientèle. It’s also home to Abondance, Châtel and Les Gets, which offer both skiers and non-skiers a friendly and relaxed taste of life in a mountain village.

Just as accessible nearby is the Grand Massif, a vast area with a great snow record and a wide range of accommodation from post-Modernist Flaine to the authentic Savoyard charm of Samoëns (with high-speed gondola access direct to the ski action).

Deep and deeper...

A little to the south-west, in the Mont Blanc Massif, lies Chamonix, whose glamorous image attracts skiers worldwide. The steeper terrain is not for the timid, but things are more reassuring at either end of the valley, in Les Houches and Le Tour. Accomplished skiers, though, aspire to the Les Grands Montets above Argentière, and perhaps the legendary Vallée Blanche, a 17km hors-piste descent from the 3812m Aiguille du Midi. If you’re up for it then you’ll need to be fit, and are advised to enlist a qualified mountain guide.

Next up (or rather down) comes Paradiski, created by linking La Plagne and Les Arcs, two of the most popular family ski areas in France, via the sensational Vanoise Express cable-car. The concept provides enough space to escape the crowds, plus comprehensive village facilities. Don’t fancy driving? Take the overnight SnowTrain from London to Bourg Saint-Maurice and you can glide straight up to Arc 1600 on a direct funicular link. This is obviously the Green option.

In the neighbouring Tarentaise valley lies the Espace Killy, combining fashionable Val d’Isère with no-nonsense Tignes. The common factor here is is superb and occasionally challenging skiing among truly awe-inspiring scenery. Be aware, though, that Val’s steep lower pistes can catch out unwary novice skiers.

To the east lie Les Trois-Vallées, a vast ski domain lining up, among others, star-struck Courchevel and Méribel plus high-altitude Val Thorens. Those on a budget still get to play, though, as the nearby spa town of Brides-les-Bains is linked by high-speed gondola direct to heart of the skiing.

Travel a little further south and you can spread out even more, with Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes, Serre Chevalier, Montgenèvre and La Grave on the menu. Buy a six-day Grande Galaxie ski pass for one of these and you get to ski a couple of days in the other resorts, or across the Italian border in Sestrière, Clavière and Sansicario.

Ski things differently...

If your idea of skiing heaven is something calmer, then there are plenty of smaller mountain villages offering a more traditional atmosphere, a warm welcome and (outside weekends) a unpressured skiing. Starting points in the north include La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand and Manigod, in the rugged Massif des Aravis, close to Annecy. Also recommended is the expanding Espace Diamant, bringing together Arêches, Les Saisies and Hauteluce, in the beautiful Beaufortain — and they’re even talking about a link to up-market Megève.

A little further south, beside the Italian border in the Haute-Maurienne Vanoise lie Bonneval-sur-Arc (a beautifully preserved medieval village) and Val Cenis, plus Les Sybelles in the nearby Maurienne valley. While they may lack the sheer gravitas of the big guns further north, the wild beauty of the scenery is unforgetable. The same is true of the Fôret-Blanche, south of Briançon and linking together Risoul and Vars. Meanwhile, Villard-de-Lans, between Grenoble and Valence, at the gateway to Provence, will introduce you to the splendours of the Vercors.

We’ve come a long way, yet we’ve ony skimmed the surface. And we haven’t even mentioned cross-country skiing, dog-sledding or snow-shoe walks — activities which will take you to undreamed of places whose calm, natural beauty will change forever the way you think about winter.

In France, of course...

© Roger Moss