What is après ski? The end of the ski day, at whatever volume you like

Après ski is what happens when the skiing stops: the drink, the snack and the company at the end of the day. It runs from a hot chocolate on a terrace to an afternoon of dancing in ski boots, and the word covers all of it.

It is French for "after skiing", and in most resorts it is gentler than its reputation.

What it means for your week

The volume varies more than anything else about a resort's evenings, so it is worth choosing for it on purpose.

The loud end. Of the 55 resorts we cover, nine are tagged lively and list nightlife, a party scene or lively evenings among the things they do best. Six are Austrian: St Anton, Ischgl, Sölden, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Kitzbühel and Mayrhofen. The other three are Val Thorens and Val d'Isère in France, and Verbier in Switzerland. In these, the après is part of why people book, and it often starts on the mountain in the afternoon.

The quiet end. We class twelve of the 55 as quiet. In Megève and Gstaad, two of them, the end of the day is a civilised drink, often by a fire, and an unhurried dinner. None of the ten Italian resorts we cover makes the loud list either. In the ones we have written up, the early evening is the aperitivo: a well made drink and something to nibble as the light goes, then dinner.

In between, which is most places: a beer on a terrace as the lifts close, a bar or two with music, and bed at a sensible hour.

Not drinking. Après is not only a bar. A pool, a spa, a sledge run or the cake waiting back at a catered chalet all count. For a family it is often a hot chocolate and a crêpe while the children run about.

The one thing people get wrong

The name says after. In the loud resorts, après often starts on the mountain, at bars beside the piste while the lifts are still turning, and the last run home comes after the drinks. That run is still a ski run, on tired legs, and alcohol dulls your judgement at any altitude. Most winter sports insurance also excludes claims if you were under the influence.

So enjoy it, but if the bar is up the mountain, know how you are getting down before the second round.

Where to go next

If you ski in Austria for the evenings and wonder whether France can match them, our page on France for Austria skiers answers it with the same tags; Austria for France skiers runs the other way. If half your group does not ski, our page on resorts for non skiers covers what they can do all day, bar or no bar. And our guide to catered chalets, apartments and hotels explains who puts the kettle on when you get in.