Good ski conditions and an early start to the season are assured by Obergurgl's favourable position high in the Oetz Valley. Deep powder will satisfy advanced skiers, long red and blue runs will please intermediates and gentle nursery slopes get novices started. Scan the brochures for the best choice of spa hotel, offering Turkish baths, whirlpools, saunas, massages and spa treatments.Getting there: for accommodation in Obergurgl visit www.tophotelhochgurgl and for information about flights and transfer visit the Tourist Office (00 43 512 72720; www.tyrol ).13. OBERGURGL, AUSTRIAThe Tirolean resort of Obergurgl has one of the highest proliferations of top quality hotels for any small ski resort anywhere, the majority of them are family run to exceptionally high standards and many have superbly equipped spa and wellness centres. British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba ) flies five times a week from Gatwick to Innsbruck on a Tue, Thur, Sat and Sun from £79 return.
For accommodation and transfer details to the ski slopes contact the Tourist Office (00 43 512 72720; www.tyrol ; www.stantonamarlberg ).12. For others, it's a chance to cram in as much of the cold white stuff as you can get away with. The Tyrolean capital of Innsbruck offers a good combination of the two, with ski slopes a backdrop to this picturesque city with the nearest just 10 minutes away for both downhill and cross-country challenges.Getting there: Igls is just 10 minutes' drive from Innsbruck, also accessible by local ski bus. IGLS, AUSTRIAFor some, a long weekend away conjures up images of a city break with the chance to browse someone else's high street, discover local culture, dine in style and let someone else make the bed. Great beginners' slopes, more challenging skiing higher up and a dedicated snowboarding park, as well as ice skating, tobogganing, skidoo-ing, ice climbing and some cool bars.Getting there: Crystal Finest (020-8939 0842; www.crystalfinest.co.uk) offers a seven-night all-inclusive chalet break from £500 per person, based on two sharing, including cooked breakfast, afternoon tea, champagne and canapes every evening, three-course evening meals, return flights and transfers.11.
COURCHEVEL, FRANCECourchevel has a reputation for being the world's best ski resort. The area is formed of four villages on different levels, Courchevel 1850 being the highest, each linked by a variety of ski lifts and a ski bus In many ways, it has everything, at a price. VAIL, USARanked as one of the finest ski resorts in the world, Vail's reputation for fulfilling the demands of the most expert skier centres around the awesome powder of its seven Back Bowls. While skiers wait for the snow dumps to fill them out, the double-blacks at the front - including the hairy Hairball Alley - put most skiers through their paces. With snow already in this terrific resort, which opens on 18 November 2005, locals predict this year's going to be a big one.Getting there: Crystal Ski (0870 160 6040; www.crystalholidays.co.uk) offers a seven-night b&b break at the Holiday Inn Apex from £527 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights from Gatwick and transfers.10. A lively and good-value Tyrolean village, it has an abundance of things to do when ski legs tire, including a large sports centre, tobogganing, squash courts, sleigh rides and is a great place for an induction into the tricky old art of apr?ski.Getting there: Igluski (020 8544 6406; www.igluski ) offers a seven-night b&b break at the Soll Pensions hotel from £219 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights and transfers.9. SOLL, AUSTRIAA great beginners' resort, Soll has an attractively priced Learn to Ski lift pass, which saves you paying for lifts and pistes that you won't use, and many good UK ski operators include it in their Learn to Ski tuition and equipment-hire packages.