La Clusaz is relatively small compared to many of the French Giants and definitely does not fall into the "purpose built and ugly" category. In fact I think the village of La Clusaz may be one of the prettiest little towns I have ever seen.

It is not a high resort, at least at village level, but it always seems to get the first snow of the season and is surprisingly “snow sure”. One of the best factors which make the place so skiable is that the underlying ground is almost all meadow in the summer. This means that skiing can proceed even when snow is very thin unlike at most other French resorts where rocky scree underlies the slopes.

The standard of skiing amongst the locals at La Clusaz seems to be very high and it really makes it an exiting place to ski. The ski resort is home to the legendary Candide Thovex who was one of the leaders of the newschool skiing movement which fought skiing's fading image (in the wake of snowboarding) to make it look cool again.

There are lots of runs for intermediates and beginners on runs which vary from wide open, high bowls, to rolling runs which wind through ornate glades. The resort is only an hour away from Grenoble airport, which means it is very easily accessible. The only problem is that queues can be a bit of a problem during peak season periods.... I would plan to avoid the French holidays.

Freestylers will love the Le Balme area as the park really really kicks ass. There's everything here from small to big and there is a real sense of innovation going on in the features. La Clusaz has the normal tabletops and rail setups, but there are also some really cool transfers, hips, wall rides and much more. Someone has obviously thought out of the box to create this park. Oh yeah...there's a kick as super pipe too.

There aren't many expert runs at La Clusaz so if you're the kind of skier that wants harder, but on piste runs, then this place isn't for you. If you don't mind getting off the beaten track then there is some very cool skiing to be done in this place.

The terrain has quite a rolly character to it, so there are loads and loads of wind lips and small drops to jump off. There is also great steep skiing, even if the runs aren't the longest in the world. The trees at Clusaz aren't that horrible dense kind, but instead are nicely spaced to give a bit more va va voom to the runs without actually getting in the way.

The locals seem to be really cool and genuinely excited about skiing which I think would make this place a great area to do a season. So long as you avoid French and British holiday periods, this place is a definite must visit for you week long break.