Alpe D'Huez is one of my personal favourite resorts in the Alps. One of the best things about the mountain are the sprawling motorway like pistes which fan out at the bottom of the area. Here is a great place to chill out and a great place for learning. Here is also a great place to go very very fast.

The upper mountain has some interesting steep skiing, both and off piste and is served by an impressive array of cable cars, gondolas and chairs. It really is a a fantastic resort to go nuts and impress the locals with your in-lift singing talent. Trust me- they love it.

It turns out that the French Alps are finally catching up with their North American competitors in terms of terrain parks. There were two parks to choose from when I visited and they had some excellently sculpted features to get airborne from. There was also a good skier/boarder cross, which ended up being the source of lots of funny road-rash style, 4 on a course, carnage racing.

The lift queues at the bottom of the mountain can be reasonably savage first thing in the morning and after lunch- especially during the French school holidays. Luckily, though, if you get up either early or late and time your lunch well then you should be able to avoid the worst of the crowds.

The majority of the slopes on the mountain are south facing which means plenty of sun snow which quickly softens throughout the days. It can also lead to some slushy and bare patches towards the village during poor snow seasons, but I have always been able to ski all the way down on my visits.

In terms of terrain at Alpe d'Huez, I think it really shines as there are loads of little nooks and crannies to explore. The attached villages of Vaujany, Auris en Oisans, and Villard Reculas offer some excellent alternate slopes and good places to eat and drink. I would highly recommend the Auris Connection chair which makes a jaw dropping journey above the ravine to the opposite side of the valley. There's also a cool long run which leads down the Glacier Sarrenne or an exciting wee tunnel which leads through Pic Blanc to a steep slope. Beware the moguls on this run though!

I think Alpe d'Huez is a great place for all ability levels and there's no way you'd see it all in a season let alone a week holiday. Somehow though the layout is a little more condensed and manageable than many other resorts. Oh yeah... its got some good pubs too!