The Espace Killy is in the Savoie region of France and it comprises the resorts of Val d'Isere, La Daille, and Tignes. Val d'Isere is regarded as the capital of modern alpine skiing and the European World Cup Downhill ('Premiere Neige') is held in Val d'Isere every December marking the start of the championship.

The area has a good reputation for having plenty of snow and La Grande Motte (3656 meters) offers year around glacier skiing and snowboarding.

Snowboards have full access to all the runs and there are 2 snowboard parks (one in La Daille and one in Tignes). There is a good selection of runs for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced skiers and snowboarders. The resort has a vast amount of off-piste opportunities and although there are only 6 black runs, they are all challenging. One in particular 'The Face' was used for the downhill competition in the 1992 Olympics. We had a few good goes on 'The Face' which was serious fun but a word of warning, it can get damn icy especially in first thing in the morning.

	Getting there: Airline
	The flight: We few from snowy Manchester (GB) to Lyon (France) using DAT airlines (formerly known as Sabina). There was one transfer (Brussels) which went smoothly and there wasn't much waiting. Ski Baggage: DAT did't charge us extra for our ski equipment Cost: only 149 pounds (242 Euro) for a return flight in late December/early January, which was a bargain. Other airlines were either fully booked or quoting between 300 to 600 pounds (490 to 980 Euro) www.dat-airlines.com
	Getting there: airport coach
	We took a coach from Lyon Airport to Val d'Isere in a snowstorm. The traffic was a nightmare and the journey time, which should normally take 3.5 hours, took about 7. The photo on the left is of the driver installing the tyre chains. We used a different coach company for our return journey (Val d'Isere to Lyon Airport) and they were very good. Cost: One way 31 pounds (50 Euro). See Autocars Martin for more information.
	Accommodation
	There are a good selection of hotels and self-catering apartments on offer in Val d'Isere. We were there at peak season so it was pricey. A good 3 star hotel was 80 pounds (131 Euro) per person per night, which included a breakfast and dinner. The self-catering apartments we saw were very compact and very basic.
	Eating out... expensive!
	Nothing in Val d'Isere is cheap especially in peak season. Beer was about 4 pounds a pint (yikes) and if you went to a half-decent restaurant you should expect to pay about 30 to 40 pounds per person for a meal, which includes some wine. There is a good selection of restaurants in Val d'Isere but we didn't come across anything too special or anything that we would recommend. Self-catering accommodation will help cut costs and if you go down this route try and stock up at the large supermarkets before you begin your climb into the mountains.

	Ski and snowboard conditions
	We were lucky and we arrived in Val d'Isere (end of December) there was a couple feet of freshly fallen snow there to greet us. Loads of skiers told us if we had arrived a week earlier we would have been disappointed since the slopes were green despite the temperatures being well below zero. On our first day snowboarding there were a couple of avalanches in our resort which killed at least 1 (rumors were 3 killed) and several were injured. This meant only about half of the runs were open while the mountain crew tied to prepare the other slopes to make then safe. Most of the routes opened after a few days but by the end of the week a lot bare patches were appearing on the more heavily trafficked runs and the snowboards and skis acquired a good few scars as a result (damn). I still find it hard to understand why they didn't have a good base of snow laid down since there seemed to be lots of snow making equipment visible but very little of it was in use. Not good!
	Would we recommend this resort?
	The Espace Killy region (including Val d'Isere, La Daille, and Tignes) is very beautiful, people were friendly and the resort has a great deal to offer but I would think twice before going there again. The reason being that if I am going on a snowboarding or skiing holiday (which are not cheap) I want to go somewhere where I'll be pretty much guaranteed some snow. If our trip were a week earlier we would have been faced with loads of green slopes and our only option would have been to take to the glacier which isn't exactly challenging and would have been extremely overcrowded. Hmmm... I think I'll be looking to go to the Rockies next time. Sure the flight will be longer but there is a greater chance that there will be plenty of snow. Oh and the pizza and beer will bound to be cheaper as well - which should go someway as to offset the extra cost of the flight.

By car: remember if you are travelling to the French Alps by car remember to bring some tyre chains (yes really). Also ensure your car is properly serviced and equipped to handle deep snow and sub-zero temperatures.

Snowtrain: There is a good train service from Waterloo (London) to Bourg St Maurice. For more information see Eurostar.com. Autocars Martin's coach service runs from Bourg St Maurce train Station to Val d'Isere.

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