Skiing in France
France has the greatest surface area in Europe of alpine skiing slopes. The French Alps alone, which stretch in a vast crescent from the Franco-Swiss border in Upper Savoy, near Geneva, to the southernmost ski-resort of Isola 2000 in the Alpes Maritimes, about 80 km from Nice, offer more alpine skiing than either Switzerland or Austria.
Eighty per cent of all skiers in France ski in the French Alps. The season there is certainly longer than in the Pyrenees, which are further south, and the ski slopes offer greater variety and higher altitudes than those in the Massif Central area. People living in the South of France have the attractions of both the sea and snow-capped slopes within easy driving distance and often fit in two skiing holidays in the year. Weekend skiing is also possible, even day trips.
With around ten million French adults and schoolchildren skiing at least once a year in France the Ministry of Education staggers the winter half-term and spring fortnight holidays by grouping the 25 regional educational administration academies into A, B and C holiday zones so that congestion is kept to a minimum. Christmas holidays are always the same for all zones: 18 to 31 December for 2005, plus New Year's Day. Whether you're an experienced skier (confirmé) keeping to red and black slopes or a débutant gingerly stepping onto green slopes, hoping to progress to blue, it is best to avoid school holiday periods completely if you want some real freedom. You will also get a better deal from hotels and chalet owners offering self catering weekly packages.
The school holiday periods for winter and spring 2006 are:
- 18 February to 3 March, and 22 April to 9 May: Zone A. Caen, Clermont- Ferrand, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Rennes and Toulouse academies ;
- 11 to 27 February, and 15 April to 2 May: Zone B. Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Besançon, Dijon, Lille, Limoges, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Poitiers, Reims, Rouen and Strasbourg academies ;
- 4 to 20 February, and 8 to 24 April: Zone C. Bordeaux, Créteil, Paris and Versailles academies.
There is no real age limit for taking up skiing provided you're reasonably fit. Even physically handicapped people who are in general poorly catered for in France have been thought of. There are approximately 1,600 ski clubs in France affiliated to the Féderation Française de Ski (www.ffs.fr). Visit the website or consult the Yellow Pages to find a local club. Ski clubs welcome beginners and experienced skiers, and club membership will give you attractive deals for holidays and purchase of skiing equipment. If you want to sell your old skiing gear the Decathlon sports stores organise twice a year 'Trocathlon' sales where you can leave your goods on a sale-or return basis. (The Trocathlon sales also apply to other sports equipment and clothing.)
Whether you join a club or not the national skiing website www.skifrance.fr (not in English, regrettably) has extremely useful information on the state of the snow at resorts, the amenities offered, altitudes, Nordic cross-country skiing (ski de fond), indoor/night-time skiing, the latest snowboard facilities, half-pipe skiing etc. Ski instructors have some command of English, but if you're in a predominantly French class instructions will be in French. An essential, more than useful, phrase to understand is couchez-vous! - lie down! - if you speed out of control downhill.
