I'm sitting in our slopeside chalet watching the snow fall with a coffee in hand, looking back on the weekend and wishing I could stay for the rest of the week! It has been 72 hours of full-on Courchevel 1850 experience. We arrived in the village on Friday afternoon, passing by the many boutiques, bars and restaurants on our way to Le Pilatus restaurant just above the resort's Altiport (in case you prefer to take your private jet. I left mine at home).  After an afternoon of work, we returned to our chalet (complete with sauna and pool table) to get ready for the opening night of the new 5* Hotel K2 (a sister property to the Kilimandjaro). And it certainly didn't disappoint - both the hotel rooms and chalets were stunning and the facilities excellent (including private pools in the chalets, iPads throughout, fantastic restaurant).

[caption id="attachment_2878" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bluebird, fresh snow and empty slopes![/caption] Saturday morning was spent discovering a couple of the non-ski activities on offer - we used various implements to slide down the pistes from traditional sledges to ski scoots to inflatables. Then the speed notched up a gear as we donned helmets and saddled up onto skidoos that we raced round the circuit. I hadn't expected to be anything other than a passenger, so it was a real thrill to drive - I'd highly recommend it! After visiting several properties in resort (watch this space!) we returned to the chalet exhausted but looking forward to the Savoyard feast ahead (I'll admit I am a bit of a tartiflette fan). We arrived at the mountain restaurant, greeted with red carpet (on the snow!) and a glass of champagne - mountain restaurant, Courchevel style. The next morning was our ski day and it was a beauty - blue skies and empty slopes. We couldn't wait to get going and covered as much ground as we could before lunch, which in true French fashion took 2 hours and several courses. Keen to get back on the slopes we managed a few more runs before meeting with the ESF for a torchlit descent. Snaking down the mountain we were quite a spectacle as fur-coated guests came out of their exclusive slopeside hotels to take pictures of us. The finale to the weekend was always going to be pretty special and dinner at Le Mangeoire  certainly lived up to expectations. Once we'd made our way through the  fantastic food and wine, the party started -  tables were cleared to make way for huge cocktail jugs and dancing guests! A great taste of what Courchevel has to offer - I just need to organise my return visit (and maybe next time I'll bring the jet.) [caption id="attachment_2879" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The great news is that the snow is falling again! Courchevel on 12 December[/caption]

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