Enjoying the Alpine rustic charm

You can ski in the French Alps and never speak a word of French - or you can go to Montchavin.

Not that the villagers have anything against English, it's just that most of them don't know any. Come changeover Saturday, when new visitors arrive, the skihire shops are full of good-natured shouting contests as the failed linguists of two nations turn up the volume. Thereafter it's French. That or miming.

It's all part of Montchavin's rustic charm. Stepping off the coach and breathing deeply of crisp Alpine air, there's the added tang of manure from the two working farms in the centre of the village, the cows, pigs, goats and chickens all contributing to the atmosphere. Montchavin is below the treeline and its traditional buildings of wood and stone date back at least a century to the time of The Big Fire. No one seems sure exactly when this was, which is strange since it's the only big thing that has ever happened to the place.

Officially it's grouped with its sister resort, Les Coches, a couple of hundred metres up the slope, but the purpose-built resort "up the road" loses out to Montchavin's human scale. Doorways have carved decorations around them, derelict buildings turn out to be working hay barns and icy cobbled alleyways prove particularly lethal in the mornings. Our first-floor chalet had a fireplace large enough to roast a child and the stairs were kept interesting by the variable ceiling height.

After dropping off bags and renting skis, there are a tangle of streets to explore at the centre of the village, with stunning views down into the valley and across to Mont Blanc, the last of the winter sun slowly turning the blinding-white peaks golden.

The village does not attract A-list skiers - the biggest celebrity they've had in recent years is Spectator editor Boris Johnson, MP. And though at the height of the season it has an astonishing 3,500-bed capacity, it never seems crowded. Not that it's undiscovered: two UK tour operators, Simply Ski and Esprit Ski, offer packages. But there's little chance the villagers are going to spend their summers attending English classes.

With UK visitors totalling only 20 per cent, it is the French who predominate. And in contrast to Champagny, one of the other village resorts of La Plagne, few British own holiday homes. You don't mind having a go at speaking bad French because every other English person is doing the same.

Yet the principal attraction is the skiing. And since Montchavin is linked to the La Plagne region - the largest skiing area in Europe (celebrating its 40th birthday this year) - there's no shortage of that. However, it takes 20 minutes for the lifts at the edge of the village to ascend from 1,200 metres to 2,400 metres - the top of the la Plagne area, from where there are easy blue and red runs down into Montchavin. After a hard day's skiing it's back to the chalet for a four-course meal cooked by your host (who is more likely to be male than female these days), and then out on the town.

The nightlife isn't particularly wild, but then there comes a time when your idea of apr?sski is not being crammed into a bar for happy hour with a load of snowboarders in their early twenties.

There are half-a-dozen restaurants to choose from come Wednesday night, when all chalet hosts have their evening off, and Savoie specialities feature heavily: beaufort cheese, dried sausage and, of course, fondue - though Le Moulin Poivre varied its traditional cuisine with dishes such as ostrich. Then there are a couple of bars, perhaps a film at the cinema (Gladiator, Billy Elliot and Chicken Run were alternating while we were there) and the Oxygene nightclub.

Whether all this peace and tranquillity will change remains to be seen. Plans for a link with the Les Arcs skiing area across the valley will increase La Plagne's total skiing from 215km of runs to 420km, making it one of the largest in the world, and since the link will be closest to Montchavin, it is bound to have an effect. The shopkeepers might be keen for the increase in business, but regular visitors will prefer it to stay the way it is. Montchavin is still a bit of a secret.

Way to go

Simply Ski (0208 541

2209) has seven nights in Montchavin from £555 pp, including return flights from Gatwick with Britannia, all transfers, chalet accommodation at La Fontanelle (breakfast, tea, dinner and drink). For further information contact the Montchavin Tourist office (00 33 4 79 078282; www. montchavin-lescoches. com).

It's all French to me...