Where to ski, month-by-month, this season

There’s no arguing now. In November, it looked as though only Canada was going to have a winter, but weather patterns seem to have shifted decisively — as you might have noticed. For the past 10 days, winter has had an icy grip not just here, but on the Alps and the Rockies, too, with temperatures plunging to -20C in places, and heavy snow in some resorts.

So, if you haven’t booked your ski holiday yet, where should you go? With one eye on the forecasts and another on the tour operators’ brochures, we’ve cherry-picked what look to be some of the best combinations of price and location in the season ahead.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

One of the features of the early season has been the number of unsold New Year’s Eve holidays on the market — and, despite a last-minute feeding frenzy, there are still trips available, some at half-price. Crystal (0871 231 5659, crystalski.co.uk) has rooms at the Club Hotel Le Totem, in Flaine, France. The resort has reasonable cover on its pistes and is expecting snow during Christmas week. One week, arriving on December 26, costs £559pp, half-board, including flights and transfers.

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In ever-reliable Val d’Isère, also in France, Finlays (01573 226611, finlayski.com) still has rooms in a couple of chalets, arriving on December 27. Prices start at £650pp, half-board, including flights and transfers.

Meanwhile, Ifyouski.com (0844 371 7733, ifyouski.com) has one week at the Chalet Boule de Neige, in high-altitude Val Thorens, for £488pp, half-board, including flights and transfers, arriving on December 26. Val Thorens is part of the enormous Three Valleys lift system and, like most resorts in the French Alps, is expecting snow next week.

JANUARY

For January holidays, wait and see — unless you’re targeting a favourite property in a popular resort, such as Val d’Isère. Once again, supply has outstripped demand, and most of the remaining holidays will soon be discounted: keep one eye on tour operators’ websites and specialist agencies such as Snow Finders (snowfinders.com) and Ifyouski.com, and the other on the weather forecast.

I’ll be watching out for news on the Dolomites: the pistes aren’t too demanding, many of the mountain restaurants are bursting with character and good things to eat, and the views will make your eyes water. Prices tend to be a little lower than in France, too, and many resorts there already have a good snow base, which can be supplemented with state-of-the-art snow cannon.

Inghams (020 8780 4444, www.inghams.co.uk) has a week at the three-star Hotel Bellevue, in Canazei, for £431pp, half-board, including flights and transfers, arriving on January 9. I can also recommend the new four-star Hotel Nives (00 39 0471 773329, hotel-nives.com; doubles from £118pp per night, half-board), in Selva — not available from any tour operator.

If you’re putting together your own trip, fly to Verona from Gatwick, with British Airways (0844 493 0777, ba.com), or Southampton, with Flybe (0871 700 2000, flybe.com). With Carrentals.co.uk, a week’s hire of a medium-sized car starts at £171 in January.

I’d also keep track of what’s happening in the American Rockies. After a pretty dismal start to the season, resorts there are beginning to catch up with their snow, and the NOAA, America’s national forecasting service, is predicting higher-than-average falls over the region during the next three months. Ski Independence (0131 243 8097, ski-i.com) has a week at the Chalet Ptarmigan, in Vail, for £1,070pp, half-board, including flights and transfers, arriving on January 19.

HALF-TERM (February 13-20)

This year, even half-term isn’t selling as well as usual, and some family-friendly ski specialists still have availability in their chalet-hotels. They aren’t cheap, but the benign chaos of these knockabout, British-run establishments is just the ticket for many families. You get instant solidarity from other parents, the support of English-speaking staff, and packs of playmates for the kids. English-speaking childcare is often laid on, too, for a price.

Mark Warner (0871 703 3888, markwarner.co.uk) still has rooms in its chalet-hotel Schweizerhof, in St Anton, Austria; the half-term week costs £6,160, half-board, for a family of four (two children aged 2-15), including flights and transfers. Or try the family ski specialists Esprit (01252 618300, www.espritski.com) and Family Ski Company (01684 540333, familyski.co.uk).

Given how feeble demand is at the moment, it may even be worth hanging on for last-minute discounts, although you’ll need a steady nerve and a relaxed attitude about where you’ll end up. If the budget’s tight and you’d rather get it sorted now, then consider a self-drive, self-catering trip instead (leaving on Friday and staying overnight in the foothills of the Alps to avoid the worst of the traffic). These are already being discounted, and if you want your children to have company, book them into classes in a Brit-friendly ski school.

With Ski Collection (0844 576 0175, skicollection.co.uk), a two-room flat sleeping four in the refurbished Les Crêts residence, in Méribel, France (which is brimming with British ski instructors), costs £456pp in half-term week.

LATE FEBRUARY AND MARCH

Now you need to factor spring into your calculations. It’s not always warm— in 2008, the best snow of the season in the Alps fell in the second half of March and April — but you can’t rely on it. So aim high. In Italy, Cervinia is a good bet, as are Val d’Isère, Val Thorens and Tignes, in France; Saas-Fee and Zermatt, in Switzerland; and Obergurgl, in Austria. Consider Canadian Rockies resorts such as Lake Louise, too, as they usually stay cold until April.

With Snowline (0844 557 3118, snowline.co.uk), the Santons Solaise chalet, in Val d’Isère, sleeps six and costs £1,109pp for a week, half-board, arriving on March 21, including flights and transfers. The word is that few chalets are being booked in advance by parties of twenty and thirtysomething skiers this year, so there will be lots of last-minute discounting. I’d sit tight until the middle of February and take stock of the market then.

EASTER

The one late-season holiday I would be tempted to book now is a family trip at Easter. Many skiing families have shifted their annual trip from February half-term to Easter, because prices are lower — and demand is focused on a handful of resorts. With Club Med (0845 367 0670, clubmed.co.uk), a week in Cervinia, arriving on April 4, costs £5,148 for a family of four, including almost everything: flights, full-board accommodation, drinks, childcare for 4- to 11-year-olds, lift passes and ski school.

BE PREPARED

Skiing is a physical sport, practised at altitude, so it’s no wonder it’s exhausting. Here’s how to lessen the shock of your first day on the slopes.

- If you don’t take regular exercise, get your doctor to look you over. The London Orthopaedic Clinic (020 7186 1000, www.londonorthopaedic.com) has devised a Ski MOT, which checks for potential problems and tests core strength and aerobic fitness; it costs £500.

- Go for a run. Ski-specific exercise programmes can be found at welove2ski.com and skiclub.co.uk. Ideally, you should start 12 weeks before the trip — but even a couple of weeks of sit-ups and squats will help. Running is good, because it prepares the legs for all the bumps and jiggles of the slopes.

- Refamiliarise yourself with how skiing feels at one of our indoor real-snow centres. The Chill Factor E, in Manchester (0161 749 2222, chillfactore.com), has two-hour adult lessons for £60, including equipment hire.