La Grave

Gentle slopes, easy blues, loads of modern lifts and an all-purpose resort for everyone? Sorry, not here. This is cutting edge skiing, no frills and hardcore. La Grave offers some of the most extreme skiing and most stunning mountain scenery in the world. Only the really top boys and girls should try skiing the mountain, La Meije. Skiing it without a guide is perilous, with hidden crevasses and twisting couloirs waiting to catch you out. There is only marked run, the rest is all off-piste - technical, heart-pumping stuff. It's a traditional old mountain village, with a few hotels, bars and restaurants, but can be affected by the traffic whizzing through. The whole place resonates with the sound of intrepid tales from La Meije conquerors. There is absolutely no pretension or pretending involved in the skiing here. Let's hope you're up to it.