La Fouly - Val Ferret

The praise is for steep, technical north-facing runs that hold good snow far longer than you would expect from a small station. There is no waiting for a lift even in the middle of the holidays. The day pass is one of the cheapest in Valais and evening skiing on the floodlit blue costs a few francs. The lifts start right in the centre of the village, the gentle lower section suits families, and freeriders come for the ungroomed fields and patrolled routes.

One thing draws criticism and everyone raises it: there are very few runs, and you spend the whole day riding the same two lifts. The variety runs out within a couple of days and there is nothing to sustain interest beyond that. Facilities and evening life are minimal. Reviews are scarce overall and the ratings middling: people like it for its character and its price rather than its size.