Located in the canton of Valais, 100kms southeast of Bern, the high and sunny family-friendly ski resorts of Riederalp and Bettmeralp are linked together by snowfields and lifts. Mostly offering beginner and intermediate skiing terrain, they also provide challenging off-piste for eager snowboarders and expert skiers.

The villages sit on a high plateau and both are traffic-free, with only 1,700 residents. There are 650 beds in hotels ranging from one- to four-star in Riederalp, as well as another 3,850 beds in chalets, holiday flats and group centres. Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp have another 5,000 guest beds. Hotel dining rooms are a good source of entertainment and restaurants, bars and discos are all lively.

The side-by-side resorts of Riederalp and Bettmeralp have 30kms of prepared slopes, 27kms of which are beginner to intermediate pistes. There are seven ski lifts, including, cable cars and draglifts, with a capacity for 9,000 people per hour. There are 110kms of runs in the region, with 31 lifts and a 32,000-person capacity.

Alternatively, Europe's longest glacier, the Aletsch Glacier, ends near Riederalp and Bettmeralp and is skiable with the right conditions and with a mandatory guide. Other hamlets in the Aletsch region include: Breiten, Kuhboden, Morel, Blatten and Belalp. Historic Brig is only a few miles from the bottom station of the cable car and is also worth a visit.

The ski season runs from December through to April and there are special Ski Week packages in mid-December, January, mid-March and after Easter. Most people fly to either Geneva or Zürich and take a train/bus/cableway combination to Riederalp or Bettmeralp.