Katie Blundell, professional snowboarder, Tignes

I love the sense of community in Tignes: everyone knows everyone. A lot of the same people are still here from my first season eight years ago – I've come back every year since. Even though there is a massive UK scene (I'm from Devon), it retains its French character. The Espace Killy ski area is vast – you could go the whole day and never ride the same run twice. I mainly hang out in the snowboard park; it gets better each year. I love to do après at the Loop Bar (loopbartignes.com) and gorge on noodles from Tignes Cusine (tignescuisine.com). Or chill out in a hot tub at Le Lagon (tignes.ne). For a night on the town, TC's (tcsbar.com) and The Alpaka Lodge (alpaka.com) are the places to go, finishing off by cutting some shapes in Jacks Nightclub.

Eric Kendall, adventure travel writer, Zinal

After skiing hundreds of resorts, in 2007 I moved with my wife Penny into an old auberge in the hamlet of Mottec just outside Zinal, Switzerland. We now run it as a catered chalet (skizinal.com). We knew the skiing was good in the Val d'Anniviers when a guide in Andermatt (a legendary off-piste venue) told us it was his favourite place for powder and terrain. Four snowy days were enough to convince us we could make it our home. This much great terrain within two hours of Geneva and without crowds is pretty compelling, especially with the backdrop of ancient villages and some of the biggest mountain vistas. There are four resorts around the valley, all on one lift pass, and there's a free ski bus. You can't beat the area to the south of the Zinal domain. After a three-week drought here, you can still find great snow. Zinal and Grimentz have long routes off the back of the domains. After five years, we're starting to feel we'll never ski every face. There's good bistro food at Le Besso hotel in the heart of the village; Hotel Europe (europezinal.ch) has an excellent kitchen; and Le Pub does exactly what the name suggests.

Oskar Enander, ski photographer, Engelberg

I'm from Sweden and have travelled worldwide for years, but it's hard to find anywhere that offers the freeriding you get in Engelberg, Switzerland, which is why I've lived here since 2002. With just a little traverse you can access runs like Laub, Steinberg and Galtiberg – this last one offers 2,000 vertical metres of epic riding. The Titlis has lots of north-facing runs, so you can ski powder well into May. My top choice for a beer and great food is Ski Lodge Engelberg (skilodgeengelberg.com). For more of a party, the bar at Hotel Hoheneck (hoheneck.ch) and the Yucatan (yucatan.ch) in Hotel Bellevue have live music most nights.

Joe Tyler, professional freeskier, Mayrhofen

I'm from Halifax, West Yorkshire, but have lived in Mayrhofen, Austria, for four years. One of the best things about it is that your ski pass covers you for every resort in the valley: you can find some great booter spots in Kaltenbach, epic cliffs in Zell am Ziller and Japan-style trees in Ramsberg. Mayrhofen is home to one of the best snowparks in Europe and on a powder day there are also some amazing lines to be had; head to Wangl, the highest point in Mayrhofen, where there's a big open face with fun chutes. For mountain bites, try Christa's Skialm (christas-skialm.at), and for après, get yourself to Brück'n Stadl (brueckenstadl.at) and you'll have a blast.