I had always wanted to ski a couloir - those narrow corridors of snow-covered rock that offer the ultimate rite of passage to all skiers and snowboarders who have ever slipped under the ropes. And yet, here I was, in my first couloir, standing as frozen as the waterfall beneath me that had carved out this secluded alleyway. Light powdery snow flowed from the edges of my skis down the tapered slope like the water would have done in summer. My skis were stuck due to the narrowness of the gulley, and the more I shuffled about, the more I scratched the snow away to expose further ice. Only minutes earlier our guide, the famous Bertrand "Zebulon" Roche, had called out that we were coming up to a "technical bit". You don't say.
For someone as proficient in the mountains as Zeb - he once held the record for being the youngest man to scale Everest - this couloir may have been "technical". For me though, it was terrifying. A real wake-up call, it was a sharp reminder of how stomach-churning, yet thrilling, skiing off-piste can be. Naturally, this fear was all in my head, and Zeb set about calmly talking me through what was required. "Relax," he said, in a manner that only ski mountain guides seem to manage. "Just take a deep breath and angle your skis down the slope." Relaxing is something that I generally equate to lying by a pool, not trying to negotiate an iced waterfall on skis, but I followed orders and scooted down at an uncomfortable speed and out to safety.
That was just the beginning of a day's backcountry skiing in the Maurienne Valley, which lies on the border of Italy in the south-east corner of France. Under crisp blue skies Zeb found us all manner of challenges that pushed us to the limit of our skiing abilities. We were an advanced bunch so we hiked up a spine of a mountain, criss-crossed bubbling streams, stopping only to scrape the chunks of ice off our skis, and zig-zagged through pine forests, all on a blanket of virgin powder snow.
Afterwards, one of our party, Andrew, couldn't contain himself. "That's about as good as it gets," he said, as we trooped back to Val Cenis, another ski resort 32km up the valley. Andrew's ski career has spanned 57 years, and he has travelled as far as Iran and Lebanon to slake his thirst for extreme skiing. "Why would anyone want to go to more famous places like Chamonix or Courchevel and not have the mountain to themselves? It doesn't get much better than that."
I had chosen Val Cenis as my base for this exploration, a less-well known resort that comprises three villages called Lanslebourg, Lanslevillard and Termignon. Lanslevillard is the prettiest of the three, with its tasteful, Alpine architecture and an 11th-century church that survives today despite the fact that the village was burned by the Germans in 1944.
The surrounding area has been embedded in the history books for more than two millennia, largely because it guards the pass over Mont Cenis - one of the best routes through the Alps into Piedmont. Hannibal may have used the route for his landmark invasion of Rome in 218BC, while some of Europe's leading generals have also taken advantage of the pass throughout history. Constantine came through here in 312AD to fight Maxentius, and Charlemagne, Frederick the Great and Napoleon all famously passed through. Even the artist JMW Turner painted it, taking the time afforded him by his carriage breaking down to sketch what eventually became his celebrated oil painting: The Passage Of Mount Cenis.
I wasn't here to sift through the history books, however, and there is enough good sport here to delight any experienced intermediate skier. First, the mountain has a vertical drop of 1,340m, which means those in search of clocking up mileage can go up and down all day to their heart's content. It is fair to say that some of the red runs are quite challenging, too, and the steep red from the top of the Vieux Moulin gondola down into the village would be a black in most other resorts. The mountain also has extensive off-piste opportunities. We snuck off to the left-hand side of the Plan Cardinal chairlift, where light pillows of powdery joy were waiting there to be lacerated by our ski edges. The terrain featured forests, rock outcrops and gullies and that area alone was big enough to take up an entire day's skiing.
But Val Cenis is also an exceptional place to learn the sport. The resort's beginner runs flow into village level, and when you are ready to progress you can take on what is the area's best draw card. At 10km in length the appropriately named L'Escargot is Europe's longest green run. Beginners often struggle to nail down the thrill of skiing, simply because most green pistes are short and do not convey the feeling of travelling around a mountain. Not here.
From the top of the Ramasse chairlift, you start off at an almost insultingly flat camber, and proceed to glide at a wonderfully leisurely pace on your traverse of the whole mountain. If you start off in the morning and head towards Pointe d'Andagne it glistens in the early sun. Stuart, who was skiing with me in Valfréjus, gushed about the possibilities for beginners. "I often bring my family here," he said. "It is one of the rare opportunities when we all have a reason to get together. They learnt here, and it was easy for them because the resort makes it easy to progress. Once you've got L'Escargot under your belt, there's Traverse, the long, easy blue that winds through the forests."
Val Cenis is not a resort for those who love to sashay down the mountain with sunglasses and St Tropez screening their face from a warm sun, though. Virtually all the slopes are north facing which is excellent for keeping the snow in good condition. In March and April, the sun does get through in the afternoon and it's possible to enjoy the sun's rays on the terrace of La Fema, a restaurant that sits at the top of the Vieux Moulin gondola.
All in all, Val Cenis has 55 pistes - 10 of which are green, 18 are blue, 23 are red and five are black. When you link up its 125km of pistes to the 25km that are available in nearby Bonneval-Sur-Arc, you have a similar mileage of runs as more famous resorts such as Mayrhofen and Kitzbuhel in Austria, or even Meribel in France, if you exclude its Three Valley links.
And that really is the heart of the matter. Val Cenis was empty when I visited. If you get bored of its pistes and limitless off-piste, you can simply get in a car and drive to any of the other resorts nearby such as Orelle, which links into the Three Valleys, the largest ski area in the world. So, if you still haven't booked your ski holiday for this year, think about following those in the know, and not the crowd.
griddle@thenational.ae
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
