Buying Ski Clothing

Most people have no trouble hiring ski gear close to their chalets. A women’s medium is pretty standard both here in the UK and in Europe, and unless you are very short or very tall, it’s usually easy to hire clothing for the slopes at the resort. You certainly don’t have to worry about buying or hiring your own before leaving the UK – unless you are a regular and committed skier or snowboarder, in which case it is probably best to invest in a suit of clothing of your own.

Let’s start with the trousers. Take care over the length- ski pants should be neither too long (they’ll drag in the snow when you’re relaxing around your chalet in St Martin de Belville) nor too short, exposing your ankles. Keep in mind that most of the time you’ll be wearing them with boots, so they don’t need to come down quite as low as a pair of casual jeans. Waists are usually high, and while that isn’t completely fashionable, it does prevent snow from getting under your jacket and down your back.

Jackets should be fairly long for the same reason. The better ones will have a snow skirt underneath as an extra measure of protection to keep snow out, and you can find similar snow gaiters built into the ankle cuffs of good snow trousers. Some ski jackets are also designed to be highly visible to under-snow avalanche scanners – not so important for most of us, but a must for off-piste skiers.

There are plenty of clothing shops near the catered chalets of Meribel and across the Alps, but it is sometimes cheaper to buy in the UK. Take a look before you go!