In the spring of 2000, a group of 200 people, including a few DJs and their record bags, set off in coaches for a week's ski holiday in the small French resort of Risoul. As they skied by day, and took over the resorts bars and clubs for parties by night, few of them probably realised that they were witnessing the start of a new phenomenon – the alpine music festival. That was the first ever Snowbombing, an event that has grown every year and now attracts 5,000 revellers and big name acts like Dizzee Rascal, Grandmaster Flash and Fatboy Slim. And Snowbombing's success has now spawned so many copycats, that an alpine festival "season" is emerging, starting this week and continuing until mid-April. This week sees two brand new festivals – the Big Snow Festival in Arinsal, Andorra and the Little World Festival in Meribel, France. But while you've left it too late for those, there's still time (and tickets left) for these parties on the piste:
1. Altitude Festival, Méribel, France
20-26 March, altitudefestival.com
Organised by Marcus Brigstocke, Altitude's USP is its mix of music and top stand-up comics. This year's headlining comedians include Andrew Maxwell, Al Murray and Rich Hall; music comes from Newton Faulkner and DJ Yoda.
Tickets: Rather than a package, you just buy tickets to the events you want to attend, which typically costs €20 - €25 each (£18-£22). More than 30 tour operators offer packages to Meribel.
2. The Brits, Laax, Switzerland
21-26 March, britishsnowtour.com/brits
Devotees may argue the Brits has been going a lot longer than Snowbombing (21 years to be exact), but it's only more recently that its grown from a mainly sport-focused event into a full-on festival. It's orginal purpose remains – the Brits are the British Snowboard and Freeski Championships, with daily competitions for the nation's best riders in disciplines such as half-pipe, slopestyle, big air and ski/boardercross - but now there's a huge amount of partying bolted on.
Tickets: Packages including seven nights' accommodation, six-day lift pass, wristband giving access to all events and a woolly hat, cost between £230 and £646 depending on your hotel (the Rocks resort has sold out, but Riders Palace and Signina hotel are still available). You book via the Laax tourist office on +41 81 927 7777, but full details are on the website. Fly to Friedrichshafen on Ryanair, from where it's a 90-minute drive to Laax. The tourist board run transfer buses which leave an hour after every incoming flight.
3. Derby de la Meije, La Grave, France
31 March - 2 April - derbydelameije.com
La Grave is known as Europe's most hardcore resort – a mountain that's entirely off-piste and has just three lifts. But at the end of the season it lets its hair down with a huge party. It's nothing like Snowbombing – there are no big name acts here, and most attendees are locals or visitors who've been coming for years, but there's a great atmosphere. The main event is the race on Good Friday - an open-to-all sprint from the very top of the mountain to the very bottom (more than two vertical km descent, entirely off-piste) – but there are parties every night and a carnival atmosphere in the car park at the base of the cable car.
Tickets: Entering the race costs €25, everything else is free. For accommodation try the Skiers Lodge or contact the tourist office. Fly to Grenoble, from where public buses run to La Grave (on the way to Briancon), taking around two hours.
4. Snowbombing, Mayrhofen, Austria
5-10 April, snowbombing.com
The original, biggest and – if full-on raving is what you're after – best. There's some kind of live music or DJ playing from midday till 5am most nights. Snowbombing takes over all the clubs in the resort, converts a few other buildings into impromtu venues, and also puts on parties in more unusual settings, including a wooded clearing on the outskirts of the village, and a giant igloo at the top of the mountain. In recent years organisers have tried to match the DJs with more live bands, so this year as well as Fatboy Slim, 2manydjs and Krafty Kuts, there's Editors, Doves, Friendly Fires and De La Soul. In all there are more than 100 acts.
Tickets: Packages of festival wristband and five nights' accommodation range from £279 per person for a self-catering flat to £399 for a four-star hotel. Snowbombing also arrange transfers from Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck airports.
5. Yeti, Nassfeld, Austria
5-10 April, yetifestival.com
Brand new for this year, the Yeti is being put together by the people behind the Secret Garden Party and club nights Secretsundaze. It's based around the Cube, a giant steel, concrete and glass hotel sleeping up to 640 on the edge of the village of Nassfeld. Inside it feels like a futuristic youth club and there's a 1,000-people capacity nightclub in the basement. (A word of warning: with no carpets sound echoes around the inside of the Cube, so if you want to sleep at all, bring earplugs). Music comes from Eddy Temple-Morris, James Priestley and Stuart Patterson.
Tickets: Packages including five nights' accommodation half-board, festival pass and lift pass cost from £399. Fly to Klagenfurt with Ryanair, from where it's one hour and 15 minutes to Nassfeld – the festival is laying on transfers.
6. Caprices Festival, Crans Montana, Switzerland
7-10 April, capricesfestival.ch
Crans Montana is a small, upmarket Swiss ski resort, home to the likes of Roger Moore and numerous retired bankers. So it's something of a culture clash that none other than Derrick May will be playing here on 9 April, the Detroit DJ credited with pretty much inventing house music and who created the legendary house tack, Strings of Life. May's presence is a giveaway that even though it's almost unknown in the UK, Caprices is a huge event – the biggest winter music festival in Switzerland. Don't expect the lairy fancy-dress antics of Snowbombing, but there's a vast and eclectic line up, from May and Carl Cox, to the Gotan Project and Amy Macdonald.
Tickets: You can buy tickets by the day, from 69CHF (£43) or a four-day pass for 249CHF (£155). Packages are available, from around 730CHF (£454) for four nights in a hotel, four-day festival pass and lift pass. Fly to Geneva, then take the train to Sierre (two hours) from where there's a funicular railway running to Crans Montana in 20 minutes.
7. Zermatt Unplugged, Zermatt, Switzerland
13-17 April, zermatt-unplugged.ch
The name is misleading – with Billy Idol on the bill, this certainly isn't all about acoustic folk songs. This will be the fourth year the classic mountain resort has ended the season with a festival, and the acts booked to play keep getting bigger. As well as Idol, this year's line up includes Lionel Richie and Newton Faulkner. Gigs take place in a big marquee or various clubs.
Tickets: Are sold to the individual concerts – tickets to Lionel Richie start at 120CHF (£75), Billy Idol 78CHF (£49). Numerous operators have packages to Zermatt, or see the tourist board website for hotels. Fly to Zurich and take the train direct to the resort (three hours, 15 minutes).
8. Telus World Ski Festival, Whistler, Canada
16-25 April, wssf.com
It's already had the Olympics, but Whistler's really big party is still to come. The Telus festival is a full 10 days of events, and has grown into North America's biggest ski and music festival. There are freestyle competitions in the day, afternoon concerts, and club nights. There's not the range of acts that you get at European festivals, but the final afternoon's gig by Arrested Development will close the season in high style.
Tickets: The best thing is that entry to most events, including the afternoon concerts and club nights is free. Numerous operators have packages to Whistler, including specialists such as Ski Independence and Ski Safari.
