On the Road with Flip Byrnes

travel.com.au Roving Reporter

From high in the Alps, Flip Byrnes starts 2006 with a downward rush. What better way to kick off the New Year than on top of a big, white hill in the ski resort of Chamonix?

The world was tilted at an odd 90 degrees and as I wiped some sawdust from my eye whilst prone on the beer splattered dance floor, I thought this was not the view I was expecting in Chamonix. What happened to the soaring peaks and Mt Blanc? All I could see were laser lights and some badly dressed Europeans.

It was New Years Eve and Chamonix was rocking. The Mecca of all things extreme - skiing, boarding, climbing, paragliding, drinking - had lured me here with the promise of buckets of snow. But minus twenty degree days and partying had rudely interrupted all of the boarding planned.

The only way to rectify this lack of mountain spirit was to spend midnight on the top of a hill, the bigger the better. Chamonix has four ski areas, Le Tour, Le Brevent, La Fleger and Les Grands Montets. The plan was to hike a hill, pop a bottle of bubbly at midnight and board down in time to hit the dance floor at the Scandinavian bar Goofy's by 1am.

With more gusto than experience, our intrepid trio donned snow shoes, plopped boards on backs and began the long climb up Les Grands Montets near the small village of Argentiere. Fifteen minutes before midnight we arrived at the top. Below, the valley lay far below like a glittering necklace and under a star studded sky with the solemn approach of midnight; the possibilities for the year ahead seemed endless.

We toasted to friends past and present, valiantly drank a bottle of champagne in record time (did someone say minus 18!!), boarded down and an hour later were in our disco shoes dancing to 80's hits.

NY day was spent digging Lancelot out of a 50-cm snow hole. Yes, I am rejoined by the 1978 2CV and no doubt you will see him again as our adventures continue.

Even if it's not NYE, Chamonix is always one of the most popular ski resorts in the Alps. Loads of lifts, a plethora of budget accommodation (five youth hostels offering beds for around $16 a night), hundreds of bars and restaurants and a thriving ski bum life make this area a highlight of any European ski tour.

However, these things include some drawbacks: peak hour traffic and supermarket queues being two of them. If you like your ski holiday fast, furious and fun soaked, it's only early season, by February or March the slopes here should be ready for you. After which, you may need a vacation from your vacation.