Heli Skiing And Hot Chocolate- Skiing The New Way

I must confess that I did not go to Zermatt entirely of my own volition. I had been once ten years ago and not been particularly impressed. As a resort it seemed to thrive off the amazing view of the Matterhorn and well... not much else. The hotel we stayed in didn't seem to quite understand the idea of service and I remember lying in bed and freezing my socks off before going out onto the slopes and queuing for extremely long periods of time and freezing my socks off some more. The joy of looking at the Matterhorn wares slightly thin when you are close to hypothermia and I decided it was an experience I wasn't keen to repeat.

My husband has a friend at work who is one of those people who can't just lie on the beach in Portugal once a year and be done with it. He is the keeping up with the Jones' of holidays. If he's not kite surfing on the Mexican coast then he's photographing almost extinct species from his tree top boutique-hotel in Africa. His latest adventure had been heli skiing in the Alps and my husband was gripped by the idea. Heli skiing is basically being flown by helicopter to the top of an otherwise inaccessible mountain and then skiing down it. It is skiing heaven and as an avid skier he was desperate to try it.

I like skiing but since the frosty reception at Zermatt I had always played it safe and opted for the overly cheery 'have a nice day' staff at Whistler. But, according to all

reports Zermatt had changed. Apparently they have realised that although the Matterhorn is a definite draw it does not guarantee tourists and therefore after five decades they have upped their game. And upped their game they certainly have, with a new ski lift system, and ski area to rival the top five resorts in the world. It has worked hard to capitalise on it's good points, such as it's quaint traditional architecture and pedestrian only town, as well as provide all the ingredients of a great ski location including guaranteed snow, great nightlife and fantastic accommodation.

The Zermatt chalets of today may be traditional on the outside but are anything but on the inside, with uber glamorous features such as cinema rooms, hot tubs, and services such as private chefs and chalet hosts often being offered as standard. Far from being chilly I felt as though I was living in the lap of luxury. Heli skiing was pioneered in Europe at Zermatt and the skiing we did was as breath taking as it was exhilarating. I would do it again in an instant. Specialist companies such as Ski in Luxury and Oxford Ski can help you find the best operators. The teams at Scott Dunn and VIP ski are also experts in Heli skiing breaks.

There is no escaping the imposing Matterhorn wherever you are in Zermatt, and with everything else so perfect, admiring it from the hot tub on our balcony made our holiday complete.

I don't know if I fancy kite surfing on the Mexican coast any time soon, but i'll definitely be open to suggestions!