Here comes winter, and with it the almost palpable rush of adrenaline that rockets through a certain breed of thrill-seeker: the ski freaks. And what an interesting season it’s going to be. When Descent, one of the ultimate luxury chalet operators, went into liquidation, it helped usher in a new back-to-basics mood. It’s less about where you’re staying and more about what you do when you get out there. There are parties aplenty in the planning, bargain heli-skiing high jinks to be had and even the 2010 Winter Olympics to get everybody in the mood. The must-have fashion accessory, meanwhile, is a hand-knitted beanie. Now all we need is snow.

1 THE FESTIVAL

Snowbombing

The coolest snow festival is looking bigger and better than ever. News just in is that Jade Jagger’s Jezebel crew will be hosting the arctic disco, while Editors and De La Soul headline. With a new five-star spa hotel where you can crash, wimping out is not an option. April 5-10, Mayrhofen, Austria; snowbombing.com

2 THE BLOGS

Sébastien Montaz-Rosset

Snow blogs are the best way to gauge conditions on the slopes you’re thinking of heading to, but when they’re top guide Sébastien Montaz-Rosset’s video snow blogs, made with production values to rival Oliver Stone (with atmospheric soundtracks and saliva-inducing alpine panoramas), they become proper ski porn. chamonixguiding.com

3 THE MUST-HAVE

The beanie

It’s all about the hand-knitted beanie. Walk into Le Rond Point in Méribel on a Saturday night and you’ll think you’ve hit a knitting convention. Holly Fisher, of the chalet company Fish & Pips, is writing a beanie blog for welove2ski.com that features a hat of the week, while Bella Seel, an instructor in Verbier, sells her creations at i-love-hats.com .

4 THE MOMENT

The Dash, Chamonix, France

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