Snowboxx Festival: A snowstorm of DJs, parties and pistes

Ben Norum16 February 2018

At this time of year, the Alps are increasingly ablaze with the sights and sounds of music festivals – big-name bands, beginner skiers and some almighty après.

While some of these major on the artists, others focus on post-ski fun and many more prioritise the pistes. Snowboxx is where those worlds meet.

It brings together a veritable snowstorm of impressive acts, all-night dancing and festival fun in a picture postcard postcard resort that just happens to offer some of the best skiing in Europe.

The line-up

Last year’s festival boasted Basement Jaxx, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and Wilkinson along with a long list of more specialised or up-and-coming names from the UK scene, not that less notoriety meant less turnout. The main stage was a highlight even without any music going on, thanks to its setting overlooking the white mountains of Avoriaz, lasers cutting atmospherically through the high-altitude fog.

This year’s line-up is upping the ante, with Fatboy Slim taking top billing alongside

Mike Skinner, Chase & Status, Youngr and Artful Dodger, with lesser-known DJs continuing to bring the bulk of the beats.

The Setting

Set 1800 metres high in the French Alps, close to the border with Switzerland, Avoriaz is all but chocolate box. Pretty high-rise wooden buildings flank its pedestrianised streets where horses replace cars and even in March it looks like Christmas.

The skiing

This is where Avoriaz really sets itself apart from many other ski festival destinations, where the number of slopes can be notoriously limited. The resort is the highest point of the vast Portes du Soleil ski area, and with a pass covering the whole lot you have access to more than 300 runs across 650km of mountain. There are well over one hundred each of blue and red, plus 37 beginner slopes and 30 blacks.

Eating & drinking

The resort pips most to the post when it comes to eating and drinking options, too. From Le Bistro for gutsy French fare to 155 Steakhouse for top-notch meat, cheap and cheerful Les Fontaines Blanches for great pizzas and wine-fueled Jaja Bar, there’s plenty of variety to fuel your partying.

The details

Snowboxx runs from 17-24th March with ticket and accommodation packages from £229 and flight packages from £369. The resort is just under 2 hours from Geneva airport. Visit snowboxx.com.

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