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Crystal-clear views of Mont Blanc to my right, the Vanoise National Park to my left and the Grand Motte glacier below – these are views often saved only for paragliders, pilots and soaring birds of prey, but you can experience it in the world's largest open-air cable car! Replacing an older lift, the cable car has two cabins and provides access to the top of the Grand Motte glacier at 3,456m. But the addition of the viewing terrace on each makes for a revolutionary ride. During the five-minute journey from the starting station, next to the Panoramic restaurant, to the top of...

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VOLKL M5 MANTRA  The 'M5' in Mantra M5 refers to this being the 5th iteration of one of Volkl's most popular and enduring skis. We test it out in Galtur to make sure the innovations live up to the heritage! Written by Daniel Wildey     Volkl's thinking behind the changes to the Mantra involves giving the ski wider appeal. They've taken away the rocker from last season, and given the M5 a more standard camber, and taken away some of the metal from last year's construction. The idea is that the result will be more playful. By pure coincidence we had...

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Ski holidays. They’re the greatest. It’s pure bacchanalia on the slopes and when the party’s that good, why stop? From sundown to sunrise – here's OnTheSnow’s pick of the best ski resorts to stay out all night in. ST ANTON, AUSTRIA St Anton’s reputation as an après-ski destination precedes it and for that we give it 10/10. Everyone’s heard of the resort’s “legendary” bars: the MooserWirt and the Krazy Kanguruh, also known as “KK”.  The former is the busiest bar in Austria, kicks off at 3pm and sees gazeeboed Brits dancing on tables loaded with beer and drenched in the frothy stuff.  KK,...

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Ski resorts now understand that not everyone wants to thrash up and down the slopes all day; some mountain lovers can’t do it anymore and some heretics never wanted to. Market studies are telling resort planners that the non-skiers that are the ones with the money, and they’re the ones that decide where the family goes on holiday. So it is time to look after them. Here are five of the best resorts for non-skiers: Avoriaz, France Ski area: Avoriaz is part of the Portes du Soleil linking eight French resorts and four Swiss with 650km of pistes. There is...

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Whether or not you’re lucky enough to be heading to one of these top resorts this winter, grab yourself a steamin’ mug of hot chocolate, find a spot to get warm and cosy, and read on to find out what’s crackin’ at eight of the best Christmas ski resorts.   Val d’Isere Val d’Isere is such a good all-rounder it could easily make most “Top” lists; top slopes, top terrain, top setting, top snowfall and top bucks (yes, it’s not cheap but it is worth it).  The resort has a top reputation among regular skiers for good reason: mainly a...

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