The Lure of the French Alps

Nothing beats Spring skiing in Vermont except maybe Spring skiing in France! Forget Aspen, Tahoe and Vail, France is the world's true ski destination this time of season.

I'm off on another far-flung adventure this time atop the jagged spine of the French Alps in Val d’Isère and the Chamonix Mont-Blanc valley. The part of France I'll be skiing is called the Espace Killy region with an extended string of picturesque villages tucked between towering vistas and challenging terrain. It's one of the oldest and largest ski resorts in the world. Snow in late April is more abundant than ever with some packed powder surfaces scaling the tops of 2-story chalets.

The 1992 Winter Games were held in Val d'Isère so the mountains have a reputation for fast, tricky, hairpin turns. It's also 4x as big as Vail - the largest single-mountain resort in North America and boasts hundreds more acres of skiable terrain. The website even says that daily lift ticket cost about half as much as in Colorado. Sounds good to me. Stay tuned for daily briefs on the adventure!