Missed out on a skiing holiday this year? Well it’s not too late to hit the slopes. Many of the higher European resorts stay open until early May, when you can take advantage of long, sunny days and discounted accommodation and lift packages in relatively empty resorts or try a bit of ski mountaineering, venturing onto virgin slopes. Words and pics: Fiona McIntosh

The Three Valleys Everyone has their own favourite resort in this, the heartland of alpine skiing. But we’ll all agree on one thing – the Three Valleys, with 600km of pistes, 200 lifts and 1 500 snow cannons supplementing the natural snowfall, offers the most extensive, varied and accessible slopes in Europe. Meribel, at the heart of the Three Valleys, is the best base if you want to get the miles in your legs and ski all three valleys – Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens – but I personally love Courchevel 1850 for its cool vibe, height, and awesome slopes. Whether you’re a beginner, a poser wanting to cruise, or a serious adrenalin junkie, the big bowls, snowboard parks and precipitous couloirs (steep chutes) of Courchevel will keep you amused for days, and for most of the season you can ski right into town.  If you don’t mind the fact that it’s a bit soulless in comparison, Val Thorens, the highest ski resort in Europe at 2 300m, is a great late-season choice. The runs are fun, the views are exceptional, and the snow conditions are excellent long after the white stuff has disappeared elsewhere. 

Val d’Isère/Tignes  Just up the valley from the Three Valleys is L’Espace Killy, which comprises the extensive, well-linked ski areas of Val d’Isère and Tignes.
Tignes, one of the highest resorts in the Alps, has a reputation for good, late snow, and with its swanky neighbour Val d’Isère boasts 300km of pisted slopes. Val d’Isère is another great place for off-piste skiing and boarding, but what really sets it apart from the rest is the après-ski – in Val happy hour begins when the lifts close and many of the resort’s 115 bars and 150 restaurants stay open long into the night. That said, Val is not cheap – you have to bus between the ski areas and it’s so popular with the Brits that you struggle to find French being spoken, so if you want to escape the ‘Hooray Henry’ set, the purpose-built resort of Tignes is a good bet. Tignes is above the tree line, so lacks the charm of the lower resorts, but the lifts are well-connected and the fact that you can usually ski to and from your chalet until mid-April is ample compensation.

Chamonix Mont-Blanc Chamonix, in the shadow of the Alps’ highest peak, the spectacular massif of Mont Blanc, is only an hour’s drive from Geneva, so it’s one of the most accessible resorts in the Alps. It’s also got history – everybody who’s anybody in the alpine skiing/climbing world has been to Cham, and its glaciers, high lifts, variety of aspects, extensive off-piste opportunities and vibey centre ensure its popularity long after the other resorts have closed. The only problem is that the 11 skiing areas are high above the resort and are spread out along the long valley – very inconvenient if the lifts break down or you decide that the conditions aren’t great in the area you’ve chosen. There’s a bus system, but ideally rent a car to get the best out of the place. Top-late season spots for downhill skiers and boarders include the Grands Montets at Argentière, Brévant and Flégère.  Late April/early May is also the best time for ski mountaineering. The famous Vallée Blanche is an exciting day excursion that any intermediate skier can enjoy. Soar up to 3 840m on the Aiguille de Midi high-speed cable car, then carefully descend the steps and slippery, knife-edge ridge to the glacier for a 24km off-piste run through mountain wilderness. You’ll need to carry safety gear (in case you get carried away by an avalanche or fall into a crevasse), and unless you’re very experienced in glacier travel you’ll need a guide too, but don’t let that put you off – this is one of the most spectacular off-piste journeys around, which ends with the classic train trip back to Chamonix. The Grands Montets glacier is much more straightforward – take the lift up to the top of the Argentière glacier for a scenic descent, then repeat as many times as your legs will allow.

Zermatt The French resorts have it when it comes to lift systems and well-linked pistes, but the pretty Swiss village of Zermatt beats all when it comes to style. Zermatt, with its narrow lanes, quaint chalets and funicular railway, is car-free, so the rich and famous strut their stuff in their furs or sit drinking champagne on one of the sun terraces gazing up at the Matterhorn – the famous peak which adorns the Toblerone boxes.

It sounds chocolate-boxy – and it is. But despite all the distractions – it’s very easy to while away the days enjoying the views, the food and the ambience of the gorgeous mountain restaurants – Zermatt offers some really challenging skiing. The Klein Matterhorn section offers glacier skiing 365 days a year and provides access to the Italian resorts of Cervinia and Valtournenche – opening up a massive area of well-connected marked pistes.  Zermatt’s one limitation is that it’s not very beginner-friendly, with most of the runs better suited to intermediates. Like Chamonix, Zermatt is a mecca for hard-core alpinists, whether they be powder hounds, climbers or hikers. It’s also a ski-mountaineering hub and the end of one of the most famous ski-touring routes in the world – the classic Haute Route, which starts in Chamonix and finishes some eight days and several high mountain passes later in Zermatt. If you’re a good intermediate skier wanting a challenge, I’d highly recommend this as a late-season option, though a good degree of fitness is required as walking uphill on skis is taxing to say the least, particularly since you need to carry everything you need for your trip on your back. Fortunately the alpine huts are well equipped with bedding, good food and fine wines, so although it’s tough going you can at least enjoy basic comforts at night.
Livigno The Italian resort of Livigno has three major selling points: it’s relatively inexpensive, has duty-free status, and since it offers great skiing for novices and intermediates is a brilliant choice for a family holiday. It’s also one of the highest resorts in the Alps and has a good network of snow-making machines, so it usually has good snow early and late in the season when the lower resorts are patchy.

There are six ski areas spread out on both sides of the valley, as well as one of the biggest snow parks in Europe, so there’s plenty of choice whatever the weather and the pistes are well-groomed and extensive, which makes for some fast, exciting but safe skiing and boarding. Best of all, Livigno has invested in an impressive modern lift system, so unlike most of the popular Italian resorts long lift queues are rare even in peak season, and the area is linked to two other valley systems so there are literally miles of piste to explore. Livigno is the telemark (free-heel skiing) capital of the Alps, so don’t be surprised to see figures bending down on one knee as they turn on their narrow cross-country skis, or walking up the pistes (they have clever ‘skins’ to create the friction) on a ski tour of the mountainous areas that the downhillers can’t reach.  Even if you’re not a skier or boarder, a late autumn escape to the Alps is a tonic. All of the resorts offer a dizzying array of fun adventures including tobogganing, skating, sleigh rides, outings on snow shoes or snow mobiles, as well as a range of adrenalin-packed adventures such as ice-climbing, paragliding (or parapenting as it’s known in the Alps), mountainbiking and horse-riding to amuse even the most hyperactive sorts. Or you can take the lifts up to quaint mountain restaurants to sip the local wine, enjoy the local cuisine and check out the action on the slopes before returning to the resort to be pampered in one of the fancy spas or wellness centres.