St Moritz: The perfect break

Why go?

There is no doubting how seriously St Moritz takes its impeccably glamorous image. I watched last week as a cleaner vacuumed the pavement outside the Louis Vuitton shop. He needs to keep it looking spruce: despite the economic gloom elsewhere, there was no shortage of customers.

But what is sometimes forgotten about this resort among the towering ridges of the Swiss Engadine is just how good the skiing is. The main village is at more than 1,800m and even though there is no more snow outside Louis Vuitton, the funicular railway takes you straight up to the pistes at 2,500m. And even this year, while much of the Alps has been desperately short of snow, St Moritz has enjoyed excellent conditions. A month of almost continuous sunshine was broken only this week by fresh falls of snow. In fact, the snow base is so good that the season looks set to last until at least the end of April.

So, if you are looking for a late ski holiday, there are few better bets – whether you are splashing out on some glamour, or looking for something more affordable. And if you can't travel now, consider a summer break, when room rates are much lower, or book for high season next year, and see St Moritz at its most glamorous during the White Turf horse races held on frozen lake in mid-February.

 

 

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The ibex statue on Piz Nair overlooking the Engadine Valley Photo: Alamy

 

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Diavolezza ? further along the valley ? has some of the most challenging slopes, and 13 fairly demanding reds and blacks Photo: Alamy