Best Ski Resort For: End-Of-Season Snow

Ischgl, Austria

"High", "north" and "glacier" are key words to keep in mind when you're looking for a place to ski this late Easter.

If you're travelling independently, especially to North America, remember that many of the ski areas will shut down for the summer just as the Easter holidays begin – proud they've ended their season with the snow 10ft deep. Package-tour operators won't want to take you to places where there's no snow, so Thomson, typical of all, drops Bulgaria, Slovenia and Spain by the end of March. If you want to go away for Easter (20 April), you will be steered towards France or Switzerland – Thomson has trips from 19 April to most resorts.

There are a handful of resorts in Europe and the US that continue to operate into May, even June. In Killington, Vermont, this means a single trail of rather stodgy snow. Mammoth in California does seem to be consistently lucky, however, with heavy spring snowstorms.

In the Alps the high-altitude French ski areas and the glacier resorts of Austria, France and Italy normally remain open until the last week of April or the first of May. Some do more than others to make a veritable celebration of April and May skiing, foremost being Ischgl in Austria where a party atmosphere prevails and the snow-sure conditions in the daytime are complemented by free concerts at dusk. These have included Tina Turner, Diana Ross and the memorable arrival of Elton John's grand piano slung beneath a helicopter. This year it's Kim Wilde and the Sugarbabes. But snow is the name of the game and thanks to being one of the highest traditional villages in the Alps at 1,400m (4,600ft), and more importantly with lifts going right up to 2,870m (9,420ft), Ischgl is a safe bet.

www.ischgl.com