James is an old friend of ours who has spent the past few years living in Les Deux Alpes. He’s the sort of guy who refuses to grow up, he doesn’t really seem to do any work other than the odd jobs here and there, so we’re a bit confused by his claims to worry about work in the morning. He’s a great skier though and he knows the place well, and he’s been kind enough to take some time out of his not-so-busy schedule to answer some questions and and give us some tips on what to do on a Ls Deux Alpes skiing holiday.

How long have you lived in Les Deux Alpes?
I’ve been here for 2 seasons now – this will be my 3rd.

What is your favourite thing about the resort?
Skiing wise, I love the fact that there is so much great terrain for off-piste skiing, and most of it has really easy access too. The park is great and I love the fact that we get so much sun – especially in spring. I think the town’s great, I live at the Venosc end (the nice end!) and from my balcony there are the most amazing views of the Ecrins peaks across the valley. The town might not be to everyone’s taste but there’s so much going on and it’s really lively, so it’s an easy place to come back to winter after winter!

Where’s your favourite place to eat on mountain?
I’m usually a sandwich on the chairlift kind of guy, but I’ve had a couple of lunches at the top of the Diable Gondola which have been really good.

Where would you ski on a powder day?
La Grave – surely I don’t need to explain why?

What is your favourite run in the ski area?
All the routes down to La Grave are amazing, but they’re not really runs are they? For Skiing in Les Deux Alpes itself, the runs down to La Fee are fun, and so are the blue and red runs under the 8-man chairlift.

If you were to spend a full day treating yourself, what would you do?
Well it would obviously be a powder day so I’d head to La Grave. When my legs can take no more I’d head back to town, grab a burger at Smokey Joe’s, then go out. If I had the next day off you can probably find me making an idiot of myself on the dance floor of the Avalanche nightclub

Any advice for families coming to the resort?
Not being a family man this is kind of a difficult question for me...the best tip I can offer is to try and stay on the side of the town which is on the ‘main’ side of the ski area rather than the smaller side – as you’ll be closer to the best nursery slopes.

Where do you like to go for a few drinks after a hard day skiing?
It’s a bit of a ‘day-off’ tradition to finish of with some drinks at the Pano Bar on the slopes. It’s hardly high-brow and the music is pretty.... errm...interesting... but you can’t help but have fun and the ski back to Les Deux Alpes town afterwards is always a good laugh! Back in town there are loads of options, Smithy’s is the one I probably end up in most though.

Where would you take beginners if you had some to stay?
I’d start of on the nursery slopes at the bottom, and then take them up to the beginner slopes on Cretes. If they fancy some big mountain scenery I’d take them up to the Glacier too as the ski slopes are nice and gentle there. I’d take them back down in the gondola though as the runs back down to resort are a bit tricky, especially when they’re busy at the end of the day.

What’s your favourite piece of trivia about Les Deux Alpes?
Apparently Les 2 Alpes is France’s second oldest ski resort behind Chamonix!

Any parting words of wisdom?
You can be down in town and it’ll be nice and warm, but as you head higher up it can get really cold – the skiing in Les Deux Alpes is high and there can be a biting wind so make sure you don’t under dress for the mountain based on the temperature when you leave your apartment in the morning!