Travel: There's still time to fit in that skiing weekend

You can leave the office at 5pm, be in a Swiss resort by 10.30 that night and on the slopes by 9 the next morning. Tania Alexander tries the short but sweet approach to relaxation in the mountains

If you're still desperate to go skiing this year, but don't have the time to take a holiday, it's worth considering a weekend break. Although it will cost you almost the same as a week's package, by choosing the right resort and flight timings you can fit in three day's skiing just by taking one day off work and if you hit lucky with the snow conditions and weather you should come back feeling as invigorated as if you'd skied seven. To put the theory to the test, my husband and I went out for a three-night break to Champery in Switzerland, organised by weekend specialists, White Roc Ski.

We finished work on Thursday at 5pm and jumped in the car to drive from north London to Heathrow, checking in with plenty of time for the 8pm Swiss Air flight to Geneva. We arrived at 10.30pm when the airport was almost deserted. The hire car booked for us as part of the package was ready and waiting to take us up to Champery. It was now well past midnight and there was no sign of life in the small sedate Swiss resort. We checked into the Hotel Suisse where we were handed our room key and an envelope with our lift-passes.

It didn't seem worth taking our skis for such a short break, so at 8.30am the next day we went next door to the Berra Sports shop to pick up the skis which had been pre-booked by White Roc. It's a five- minute steep walk down to the telecabine (a courtesy bus will drop you back) and by 9am we were up the mountains. Champery is linked into the Portes du Soleil ski area which comprises about 300 miles of pistes on one lift pass. Saturday mornings are a good time to ski in the Portes du Soleil as the slopes are empty as it's change-over day for most tour operators. We decided to take advantage of this and were setting out before 9am when we bumped into Monsieur Berra from the ski shop who invited us to tag along with him and his son-in-law. We took the local bus to Le Grand Paradis chairlift, an alternative route up the mountain, about five minutes down the road. As they were much better and faster skiers than us, we pushed ourselves that day and covered even more mileage than the day before, which made us glad we'd bothered to get fit before the trip.

We woke on the Sunday at 7am to pack our few belongings and were pleased to hear that the hotel were allowing us to keep our room for a late check- out. After another full day's skiing, we returned our skis at 4am and went back to our hotel room for a quick shower and a farewell drink before heading off to Geneva Airport. Our Swissair flight took off at 8pm and we landed 15 minutes early at Heathrow at 8.30pm. As always with a short trip, it felt as though we'd been away much longer, and as we'd skied such a lot it seemed well worth it. I would certainly do it again despite the fact that the cost of a trip like this is pounds 426 including flights, car hire and bed and breakfast accommodation.

Choosing a resort

Keep travelling down to a minimum. There are plenty of good resorts within one to two hours of Geneva or Zurich airports. In order to get maximum skiing time you need to use scheduled flights. Swiss Air and Cross Air both offer convenient timings from a variety of British airports. For example, Morzine, which like Champery is linked into the Portes du Soleil, is a traditional French resort only 50 miles from Geneva, with a livelier night- life than Champery at reasonable prices. From here you have cable car access into Avoriaz and can also ski over to Les Gets.

Weekend skiing can be a very romantic break and there are plenty of resorts that cater for partners who don't ski. Snow bunnies in search of French chic and plenty of apres ski should try Megeve, 55 miles from Geneva, where the non-skiing partner could easily spend a weekend just shopping, leaving the skier partner free to cruise around the fairly easy pistes. Another good weekend resort is Chamonix, 65 miles from Geneva. This is a much bigger town than Megeve and it has a first- class sports centre for non-skiers. Chamonix is a good place to choose for a weekend break right at the end of the season; it should stay open until about the 4 May this year.

On the Italian side of Mont Blanc is Courmayeur, 78 miles from Geneva with a lively apres-ski and skiing well suited to intermediates. Like all Italian resorts it's a place to see and be seen in. The Swiss resort Flims is a little further away in mileage, 98 miles from Zurich, and has surprisingly extensive skiing. This is a good resort to choose if you want a weekend of escapism away from British voices as it's still relatively unknown to the British ski market and consequently the locals will go out of their way to make your weekend enjoyable. It's also a good choice if you want to learn to snowboard. If you're fit, wealthy, and like to both party and ski hard, Verbier in Switzerland is a possible choice for weekend skiing, about two hours away from Geneva. The skiing here is challenging and the Sloaney night life needs little introduction. Most of the Austrian resorts are also within an hour or two's drive, bus or train ride from an airport. Fly to Innsbruck and you can be at the tiny but pretty ski resort of Igls in 10-15 minutes drive. Staying at Innsbruck is cheaper than staying in a resort and will feel more like a city weekend break than a ski holiday. Lift queues can be a problem at weekends. Saalbach is within an hour's transfer from Salzburg, and will suit intermediates.

Weekends in reverse

If you're self-employed or have flexible working arrangements, it's worth going for a short break in the middle of the week. The advantages of this is that the resorts will be quieter, the lift queues shorter and you may be able to get a better deal on accommodation.

Weekends on your own

Ski Weekend has an increasing number of short break clients who travel by themselves. It arranges a daily programme so that you never have to ski on your own and also organises informal evenings out in the local pub.

white powder WEEKENDS

Alternatively, if you fancy a weekend thigh deep in powder, White Roc can pre-book an off-piste guide or instructor for your weekend and Ski Weekend offers off-piste weekend courses with the services of a mountain guide.

Snowboarding Weekends

A weekend is just the right amount of time to pick up the basics of snowboarding. White Roc organises three-day learn to snowboard weekends in selected resorts. Average prices are pounds 130 per person for a party of four, in addition to travel and accommodation.

GETTING THERE

Fact File

White Roc (tel: 0171 792 1188). Weekends in Courmayeur, Argentiere, Chamonix, Megeve, Courchevel, Val Thorens, Meribel, Morzine, Val d'Isere, Verbier, Champery, Flims, Davos and Klosters. From pounds 298 for three nights in a chalet in Morzine (minimum four persons).

Ski Weekend (tel: 01367 241636). Weekends in Chamonix. From pounds 399 for three nights bed and breakfast in a two- star hotel including flights and ski guiding.

Collineige (tel: 01276 24262). Chamonix specialist which can also organise weekends. From pounds 489 in a catered chalet for four nights, including flights.

Made to Measure (tel: 01243 533333). Can tailor weekends for individual customers in Innsbruck, Igls, Badgastein, Schladming, Alpbach, Champery, Davos, Engelberg, Flims, Klosters, Villars, Chamonix, Flaine and Megeve. From pounds 352 for three nights bed and breakfast in a pension in Alpbach including flights and car hire.