Five of the best late-season ski festivals

The Big Snow Festival, Sauze d'Oulx, Italy 25 March–1 April The Big Snow Festival has found a home in Sauze d'Oulx for 2012, with a lineup including Judge Jules, Eddy Temple Morris and Hot City. So, after days skiing across the 400km of piste hereabouts, make sure you've got some strength left for a lot of dancing. • nomud.com/the-big-snow-festival-overview.aspx , tickets from £95 Altitude Comedy Festival, Mayrhofen, Austria 26-31 March Not strictly an end-of-season event, but close enough. And if you'd rather face down April with some laughs, as opposed to dance music, this is a corker. Jimmy Carr, Ed Byrne and Marcus Brigstocke are in the lineup. • altitudefestival.com , five-day pass £158, day passes £44 Winter Sessions Weekender, Chamonix, France 30-31 March Acts include Zero 7 and Norman Jay. The carnival air is stoked with daytime BBQs, snowboard and ski races, bake-offs and other antics as you'd expect at the close of a ski season. • wintersessions.net , £65+ booking fee Spring Back to Vail, Colorado, US 9-15 April This lively seven-day event in the Rockies combines live music acts, ski and snowboard competitions (including the infamous world pond-skimming championships), and – if the past few years are anything to go by – spring powder days. • springbacktovail.com , most events are free Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada 13-22 April This huge 10-day event – a mix of racing, culture and music – means that when the end comes no one is going out quietly. Films, concerts, exhibitions, parties and even a dog parade are some of your options, while the mountains of Whistler Blackcomb have decent spring snow. • wssf.com , variable ticket prices – many events are free