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In the tail of the afternoon, when the ice takes on a lilac tinge and thoughts turn to fireside beers, I’m riding a final line over soft powder-puff mounds of snow – corpulent, buried trees hibernating beneath a deep white cover.
There is no one else around, and as my friend and I dodge between the frosted branches of sparse woodland, descending towards the glowing yellow windows of the village, the only sound is that swoosh-splatter of fresh powder and the occasional “Whoop!” we can’t help but let out as we fly off the next natural jump.
It’s a euphoric but strangely peaceful end to a day during which we have skied all over one of the world’s biggest and busiest mega-resorts, the Four Valleys. But, cleverly, instead of staying in the pricey hotels of the super-rich, we are staying in La Tzoumaz, one of the Alps’ satellite ski resorts: small, lesser-known villages that connect to famous resorts via a lift link-up.
Some small villages have been linked up for decades, but their numbers are constantly growing, as resorts and lift companies seek to expand and put in new connections to grow business. La Tzoumaz is a relatively new proposition. A gondola connecting it to the Savoleyres ski area was built in 2008, and a chairlift into the Four Valleys ski area followed.
As we unclip our gear, undisturbed, and stroll in the fading light to ViTho, a cute little après-ski bar with outdoor sofas covered in sheepskins, for a couple of quiet drinks among locals, we spare a thought for the ski comrades with whom we shared chairlifts a few hours ago, who must by now be amid the mayhem and crowds of Verbier in the neighbouring valley, paying a tenner for a beer.
Photograph: PR
Although ViTho does host DJs, and it stays open late, the limited nightlife in the handful of bars in La Tzoumaz is a world away from après-ski chez Verbs, where loaded Made in Chelsea-type 18-year-olds spray thousands of pounds worth of champagne onto the floor of the Farinet bar.
Verbier’s resort base may be off-puttingly glitzy and expensive now, but there is no questioning the awesomeness of its ski area, and thousands of skiers who detest the social scene still want to ski here. Off-piste terrain around Tortin, Mont Fort, Vallon D’Arby and Mont Gelé provides a giant theme park of expert routes, above 410km of pistes across the Four Valleys area.
Poor little La Tzoumaz has just 12 runs, covering 54km, but there is some fun, mellow off-piste to be had, which we happily spend a day lapping, and you are quickly up into the Four Valleys terrain in 15 minutes – without having to touch down in queue-snaked Verbier proper.
You don’t have to, though. Another advantage of staying in a satellite resort is that many have their own lift pass, so some days you can stay local and not bother buying a more expensive pass for the entire network. A La Tzoumaz/Savoleyres pass costs CHF58 (£38) a day, compared with £47 for the entire Four Valleys pass (also including Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Verbier and Thyon), or £44 for Verbier alone.
Accommodation is more affordable too, of course. While Verbier is full of ridiculously lavish chalets and hotels such as Richard Branson’s The Lodge, and the W, Tzoumaz offers simple apartments and unreconstructed, classic Alpine hotels, such as the Post Hotel and Les Fougères Hotel & Harry’s Bar.
Photograph: Bridget Clyde/Alamy
Even the smart option, Chalet Auriane, is half the price it would be in Verbier. This catered pad has an outdoor hot tub, sauna, art, excellent food, and a private mini-funicular lift shared with surrounding chalets, to ferry guests up to the nearest run and save them trudging through the snow. Rental is £825pp per week (it sleeps 12), including all meals (with unlimited wine), plus afternoon tea, canapes, aperitifs and champagne every day. Try finding something similar in Verbier for that price.
But that’s not to say La Tzoumaz is a poor relation of its rich neighbour. Its views of the Rhône valley are tremendous, it’s pretty, and it boasts a natural ice rink, heated public swimming pool, and the longest floodlit toboggan run in, ahem, western Switzerland (woo!) – all huge advantages for those with kids, or reluctant skiers, in tow.
Our day with ski guide David Perraudin of Perraudin Sports ends magically, in a mountain hut at sundown, for glasses of local Fendant white. This is followed by a torch-lit descent back to La Tzoumaz, hot, dripping wax from our giant candles spattering over our boards as we swerve merrily through the dark.
Inevitably, the links between these satellite resorts and the main resorts will strengthen. Another lift that will bring skiers back to La Tzoumaz from Verbier is in the pipeline (rumoured to open by 2016), and could lead to more development there.
Last season, one of Verbier’s other “secret” satellites, Bruson, formerly a little-known spot where powder-hungry locals went for tree skiing on bad-weather days, was connected to the network by a new lift. And though there has been little impact so far (tourists aren’t using it much yet), some locals predict it could go the way of Nendaz, which 15 years ago was a small, quiet enclave, but has become huge – transformed by luxury self-catering developments and hotels.
Whether La Tzoumaz will follow suit once the new lift opens, only time will tell. The villagers want La Tzoumaz to develop, says Auriane’s owner, Paul, but carefully and slowly, though he admits developers are always sniffing around.
“La Tzoumaz isn’t the new Nendaz, or the new Verbier,” he says. “It’s a quieter alternative, it’s real mountains … the people here care about their mountain community.”
More satellite resorts to try, and future ones to look out for
Established
Photograph: Alamy
• Stuben in Austria, the smallest of five villages in the Arlberg ski area, is a good base in order to access St Anton’s epic terrain. Not only do you get to avoid the drunken hordes who patrol the main town at night, but it has some of the area’s best off-piste on north-facing slopes right above it. You can find hotels there at ultimate-ski.com.
• Try the Peisey-Vallandry villages as a quainter alternative to unattractive Les Arcs or La Plagne, in the Paradiski area. They’re high enough for decent snow, with traditional chalets, and the Vanoise Express lift between the two bigger resorts stops off there at Plan-Peisey. Other satellite villages you’ll want to check out are Montchavin-Les Coches and Champagny.
• Les Gets and Chatel aren’t the only satellite options for skiing in Avoriaz and Morzine, and the Portes du Soleil. The lesser-known option is Ardent, a hamlet with low-cost family chalets available through Family Ski.
• It’s not just Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens; eight different resorts make up Les Trois Vallées, and half of them are much smaller than their flash neighbours. Teeny Orelle feels like a proper French village; it’s very quiet, but there is a lift to Val Thorens, which takes just three minutes. Apartments can be booked through Peak Retreats.
Future link-ups
Photograph: Christoph Jorda/Getty Images/LOOK
• Change is afoot in Austria. Kappl, not far from Ischgl, is rumoured to be getting a new link to the Rendl pistes of St Anton, which would be a major deal for the little resort.
• Warth and Schröcken are unknown to Brits, though they usually get more snow than anywhere else in the Alps (11m, typically), but since last year have been linked to Lech-Zürs via a 10-seater gondola with heated seats.
• There are plans to (eventually) link Zürs to Stuben (again, no date has been set), so you could then ski Kappl to St Anton, and St Anton all the way to Warth, via Stuben, Zürs and Lech. A vast ski area with a huge variety of runs and off-piste.
• Last year the pretty Swiss village of Arosa was linked to bigger Lenzerheide by a new cable car, doubling the rewards for a stay in either of those bases, and bringing the total runs to 225km.
• Authentic and family-friendly Bonneval sur Arc, in France’s unspoilt Haute-Maurienne, could be getting a long-talked about link-up to Val d’Isère. It has applied for permission for a lift, though environmentalists and some local residents are opposed to the plans, as it may affect an area of national park.
• It is a shame, perhaps … but the stunning and wonderfully empty Utah resort of Solitude may link up to the massive areas at Park City and Canyons, though no date has been announced for this.
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