Les 2 Alpes basks in the spring sun

This is our altitude beginners' area and it's still in great shape. The magic carpet is the easiest of the runs and still has full snow cover. This can be a little firm first thing and softens as the day goes on and the sun hits the slopes but, for mid April, it’s really in fab condition. The Petite Cretes and Cretes runs are also in very good condition – firm in the morning and softening during the day but with full snow cover. To ski back to resort we now have the Valentine black run and the blue Jandri 1. The Valentine is often closed first thing as it can be very firm and slippy but opens as it softens, usually mid-morning. The blue is very well looked after and therefore opens first thing at the moment. Note that both can be very slushy later in the day and are best avoided especially with children – use the lifts to go back down. The takeaway restaurant is now closed on the Cretes but the self-service Patache is still open and serving a spaghetti Bolognese which is second to none.

Bellecombes is my favourite part of the ski area at the moment. Pistes are in excellent condition thanks to them being well groomed and north-facing. The black Bellecombes 6 is fantastic fun, full of moguls. You can see this run from the chairlift but, remember, that the bumps look much smaller than they are from up high.

La Toura is a fun area for all the family. The dual slalom is up and running and the park is open. The blue runs are groomed and great fun and there is even a bumpy run that is a good warm-up for the black in Bellecombes. There is also a boarder/skier cross run which is excellent fun for all the family. The Chalet La Toura, in the bowl of La Toura, has a wonderful sun terrace and serves great pizzas.

La Fée remains another of my favourite sectors. The scenery is magnificent and the pistes great fun. The blue Fée 1 is steep in sections and flat in others so you need to be very confident on blues to attack this one. The rest of the area is reds and blacks. The la Fée Refuge restaurant has a wonderful sun terrace and serves the most wonderful salads. It comes highly recommended.

The glacier is in fantastic shape. We can ski here in the summer, so winter conditions are always good. The snow is currently cold and wintery while the pistes are well groomed and smooth. You can see the preparation that goes into the summer area here – there are snow farms to the right and left that allow the snow to be caught when the wind blows and bashed into the pack rather than lost. You can now also see the construction of the summer snowpark to the skier's left as you descend. You will also notice that the excess snow from areas where it isn’t needed is being moved to the bottom of the T-bar lifts to ensure that there is a thick base here and the access is kept good all summer.

This is the last of the holiday weeks for the English but we are still open for another week and conditions are looking fantastic. The temperatures are rising slowly during this week but more precipitation is due next week. We could finish the season with fresh powder!