La Grave, France

A quiet little town with three lifts and one piste, which is blue. Doesn’t exactly sound like a desirable ski destination, but the hulking mountain of La Meije has been the ultimate challenge for skiers since 1978, when the second stage of the gondolas (resembling the boxy, primary-coloured Renault 5s of the era) was opened. Bar that one access piste from neighbouring Les Deux Alpes, the whole mountain is unmarked freeride terrain. If the name La Grave itself were not warning enough, it is hard to find a truly experienced skier who doesn’t at least know of someone who has perished there. There are cliff-steep couloirs hundreds of metres long, sometimes icy, often requiring a rope to descend. A good guide to trust, and an honest appraisal of your own limits, are essential. But, with good terrain management, an experienced freerider can find all they want in the 2,000m vertical drop… more forgiving chutes, open bowls, rolling fields, ridges and natural kickers to play with, before a lower half of scampering through the trees. 

lagrave-lameije.com

Andermatt, Switzerland

When Egyptian resort developer Samih Sawiris arrived in the out-of-the-way ski area cum army base, there was excitement for Andermatt’s prospects, but fear that its old-school charm might disappear. Sure enough, along with the luxury The Chedi hotel came high-end apartments and shops, plus around £100m investment in lift upgrades and links to neighbouring Sedrun ski area. However, the development is separate from the charming old village, with places for “real skiers” such as the Hotel Sonne, and the high-speed chairs and gondolas are in the intermediate ski sectors. Remaining untouched is the Gemsstock, a 2,961m peak reached by an old two-stage cable car, with marked runs on just a tiny fraction of the skiable terrain on the front face. What’s more, a little hiking offers entry into couloirs accessing the back face and the deserted Unteralp Valley. And, for those who regard any lift as cheating, there is ideal ski touring terrain among the disused lifts and pistes of the abandoned Winterhorn mountain.

andermatt-guides.ch

Monterosa, Italy

Alagna in the Monterosa used to be another “resort with almost no pistes”. You could stay in the 19th-century Rifugio Guglielmina at 2,880m and ski from the door at dawn. Then, in 2011, the refuge burnt down and the resort cut a blue run through what had been untouched terrain. However, again, it did not mean that Alagna, or its neighbours Gressoney and Champoluc, stopped being revered destinations for freeriders. Because the Monte Rosa Massif is, well, massive. And, unlike in much of the Dolomites, off-piste skiing is positively encouraged (there is even a specific freeride map). The lifts reach a zenith of 3,275m at Punta Indren, but summits over 1,000m higher are reachable by skinning up. Champoluc is also a heliski base – you can be dropped above Zermatt in Switzerland and ski back via Cervinia (with a good lunch guaranteed in either resort!).

visitmonterosa.com

Fernie, Canada

Away from the Alps, British Columbia is known for its adventurous skiing, be it in the resort of Whistler, near Vancouver, or from heli and snowcat-skiing centres such as Revelstoke. Fernie is in the remote southeast corner of BC – almost in Alberta – and is, before anything, a true western logging town (a Canadian Twin Peaks). But Fernie Alpine Resort is just as special – most of the inbound terrain is ungroomed but avalanche-secured and patrolled black-diamond tree-riding off five ridges. But gates open to further, more open bowls in the backcountry, where you need a guide – not least to help you flag down a truck when you pop out on an isolated logging road. Be sure to add a couple of nights at nearby Island Lake Lodge for superb cat-skiing.

skifernie.com; islandlakelodge.com