Switzerland

Growing numbers of teenagers are eager to head off-piste, but there are few trips catering for them. Thankfully, the Ski Club of Great Britain offers breaks for ski-mad families, including a half-term off-piste week in the hardcore skiers' mecca, Andermatt.

• Children must be 13 or over (£1,295 half-board, 020 8410 2022; skifreshtracks.co.uk).

Kashmir

The Foreign Office advises against going there, but the pull of Himalayan powder and a lift that rises to almost 4,000m is drawing more adventurous skiers to Gulmarg. A trip there only costs the same as a week in a smart Alpine chalet.

• Indus (020 8901 7320; industours.co.uk) has a 10-day trip from £1255, with flights.

Colorado

Olympic ski jumping is all well and good, but if you want to be down with the kids, you need freestyle skills for the park and half-pipe. The best place to learn is Woodward, a training centre at the resort of Copper Mountain.

• Full-day courses cost £121 (+1 888 350 1544; woodwardatcopper.com).

Macedonia

Catskiing is the poor man's version of heliskiing – using a converted piste-basher to access virgin powder fields. It grew up in the Rocky Mountains, but now a pioneering company has brought it to Europe. Eskimo Freeride operates between December and April in Macedonia's Shar Planina range.

• Prices start at £150 a day, including guide fees, loan of safety equipment and half-board accommodation (eskimo-freeride.com).

France-Switzerland

Ski touring is enjoying a surge in popularity, and the most celebrated of all is the Haute Route, a week-long trip between two classic resorts, Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland. You need to have some touring experience.

• Wilderness Journeys (0131 625 6635; wildernessjourneys.com) offers an eight-night Haute Route expedition, including guiding, accommodation and most meals, for £1,195.