Aussois Sneeuwverwachting

This is a friendly, small, typically French resort. Don't go to Aussois expecting nightlife or 50 different black runs, but do go if what you want is a tranquil, largely queue-free, bargain ski experience. I went with our children (6 and 9) - it was their first time - and we could not have asked for a better place to be. The resort rises to nearly 3000m and has loads of snow cannons, so snow is reasonably guaranteed. You can ski out of the apartment block (les Flocons d'Argent) to the lifts less than 100m away. If you book the accomodation through goelia.com, they can arrange lift passes at a reduction. All the runs eventually return to this one area - so no military-style planning required to work out how to get home via 15 lifts. If your French is a bit rusty (or non-existent in my childrens' case!), then your options for ski school might be a bit limited; better to arrange personal lessons as we did - 5 two-hour sessions worked out at around 300 euros, and it was with a proper ESF instructor. In short, 4 of us went during the first week of the season - December 18 - 25. Accommodation, lift passes and lessons cost under 1500 - and that's total, not per person. Was the snow less good than at somewhere costing 3-4 times as much? I doubt it. Go and enjoy!