Taking it easy, Verbier style, where extreme is the name of the game. (Myswitzerland.com)

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At its core, this eclectic resort high over the Rhone Valley has the traditional chalet architecture generally associated with the eastern Alps, while the soaring mountain scenery and challenging terrain are definitely the stuff of which western Alpine skiing is made. Peaks such as Les Attelas, Les Ruinettes, and especially Mont Fort are legendary for strong intermediate and better skiers. Boarders are fond of it as well.

In addition to groomed pistes, Verbier has marked but ungroomed "ski itineraries" designed to channel skiers and snowboarders to incredible off-piste terrain, mogul runs, powder pockets, steep chutes, and some of the most fantastic extreme terrain in the Alps. This, in short, is not a resort for neophytes.

You could simply ski the terrain around Verbier (www.verbier.ch) for a week and never get bored, or you can buy a Quatre Vallèes pass and make excursions to the smaller and less renowned neighboring resorts of Thyon, Nendaz, and Veysonnaz, plus a few even smaller ski areas that are not lift-linked. In all, you can ride nearly a hundred lifts on the pass.