Getting to know Gabriella Le Breton
The ski journalist and author on her career, life in the French Alps and her book, SKI.
Ski journalist Gabriella Le Breton has spent almost 20 years writing about skiing, travelling to more than 130 resorts along the way.
When we last spoke to her in 2017, she was travelling around the Alps in a blue campervan. Since then, she’s had two daughters, bought a tumbledown chalet in the French Alps and written SKI, a book exploring the history, characters, style and culture of skiing.
We caught up with Gabriella to reflect on her career, the resorts she keeps returning to, what she thinks the ski industry gets wrong and the places she’s still hoping to ski.
How I became a ski journalist
After doing two winter seasons and three summers in Aspen, Colorado, I knew I had to find a way to incorporate skiing into my working life. I’d always dreamt of becoming a travel writer and the stars aligned when I was invited to co-write the Footprint Guide to Skiing Europe back in 2008.
The maddest assignment I’ve taken on was probably writing that guidebook. Over the course of one winter, I drove myself around the Alps in a seriously budget rental car to ski and write up 42 resorts. It was a baptism of fire and a tremendous adventure.
Why I’m still obsessed with skiing
As any skier will know, no single ski run is ever the same, or perhaps I’m just really easily entertained?!
I am constantly enthralled by the beauty and majesty of the mountains and always revel in the joy of nailing a particular run, finding some fresh powder, discovering a new trail through the trees or watching my daughters find pleasure in skiing.
From a professional point of view, there are always new resorts to discover, while the ones I already know well are constantly changing, with new pistes, lifts giving access to new terrain, and new hotels and restaurants.
I’ve definitely learned to see resorts from a parent’s point of view, which has been a game-changer. And, as I turn 50 next year, I’m also taking more of an interest in the health and fitness angles of skiing.
But mostly, I take inspiration from skiers whose passion really shines through what they do and destinations where you can escape the crowds and enjoy the peace of the mountains.
The book I really wanted to write
SKI takes a broader look at skiing as a culture: its history, characters, mountains, style, design and rituals.
It’s also written rather differently from my previous books. The text is looser, less concerned with facts and more with capturing what skiing feels like, and why it has held us in its spell for generations.
It is also unashamedly focused on luxury within skiing, not merely in terms of accommodation, cuisine and fashion, but across a far broader perspective, considering luxury as access to remote places and remarkable people, and the long-standing connection between skiing and fine art.
The unexpected story I discovered while writing SKI
One of the stories I discovered while working on the book was that of Helmut Gritscher, an Austrian photographer who became obsessed with photographing skiing, snow and mountains in the 1950s. He spent decades working on his own photographic book, Ski Fascination, an extraordinarily ambitious tribute to the world of skiing, snow and mountains he loved.
He worked on the project for decades, but as skiing became increasingly commercialised, his feelings towards it changed. He eventually completed a manuscript and dummy and even secured publication deals, but the book was never published.
When he was in his eighties, his son rediscovered the battered dummy. I found the photographs incredibly poignant. They captured something about the fascination of skiing that I was exploring throughout SKI.
There were so many people and stories I wanted to include. I still want to dedicate a book to the incredible athletes, adventurers and pioneers who have shaped skiing as we know it today. I wasn’t able to include all my personal heroes in this one.
SKI launched on 30 August 2026 and is available at Waterstones, other good bookshops and the usual online outlets.
130+ resorts later, these are the ones I keep coming back to
I was asked how many resorts I’d skied in about ten years ago and counted 130, so I’ve probably skied a little over that now.
Val d’Isère is a favourite, with incredible terrain, amazing restaurants and epic nightlife. Zermatt has a special place in my heart because I went there on childhood holidays and it was also where my husband and I honeymooned. Aspen is another obvious one, having spent two winters and three summers there after university.
Why the French Alps keep drawing me back
As of this year, a second home is drawing me back to the French Alps. We bought a tumbledown chalet in a hamlet just below Montalbert, which forms part of the La Plagne ski area.
I can’t wait to get to know the ski area inside out, a level of intimacy with a ski area that I’ve really missed since living in Aspen, and to see my two daughters really embrace their passion for skiing.
More widely speaking, I feel that the French resorts excel at creating vast linked areas with largely efficient lift systems that encompass incredibly varied terrain: high-altitude glaciers, wooded pistes and fun parks for adults and kids. And, of course, excellent on-mountain dining.
Three French Alps resorts, three very different personalities
Méribel and Courchevel obviously form part of the Three Valleys ski area, but the two resorts have very different vibes.
Méribel is great for families and for those without bottomless wallets. It has authentic Alpine charm, lively British-heavy après-ski and nightlife, and plenty of intermediate terrain.
Courchevel is more cosmopolitan, with opulent hotels, restaurants and chalets, as well as beautifully manicured terrain. It also opens directly onto much of the Three Valleys’ most challenging skiing.
And then Val d’Isère is just an entity in its own right. There’s excellent accommodation, incredible skiing, ski guides for off-piste and a fantastic lift system. You can choose between the buzzy atmosphere of the town or somewhere more tranquil, such as Le Fornet.
My favourite spots in Val d’Isère, Méribel and Courchevel
Le Fornet is a favourite. I love tree skiing when the visibility is bad, as well as the long off-piste descents and long lunches at L’Edelweiss.
In Courchevel, I always enjoy the Altiport, as well as off-piste descents from the Saulire ridge and into the Col du Fruit.
What the ski industry gets wrong
There’s a lot of chat about AI at the moment. I understand how it can improve efficiency behind the scenes, but I think luxury customers will always prefer personal interaction with experts.
Sustainability is another subject we talk about a lot. I’d like to see the market leaders take a firmer stance on minimising the impact of skiing and ski travel.
The places I’m still desperate to ski
LOTS!
The Himalayas are a big one, which I’m hopefully going to tick off next year. I’d also love to ski in Chile, Norway and the Russian Far East.
The ski kit I swear by
I’m very loyal to Black Crows skis. If money were no object, I’d have bespoke skis made by Rupert Gammond at PFD Skis.
For kit, I like Arc’teryx for quality and longevity, Peak Performance for technical but gorgeous shells, and Stellar Equipment for its ethos of buying less and buying better, as well as its small technical collections.
My perfect day on the mountain
There’s a bit of a parental conflict here. I’d love a day skiing with my girls, who are four and eight, but I’d also love to race around the mountain with my husband.
Ideally, I’d have a bit of both. Perhaps a 70/30 husband/kids ratio?!
Discover more from Gabriella
Want to follow more of Gabriella’s adventures?
Find out more about her work and latest stories, or purchase her new book, SKI, for a deeper look at the destinations, people, history and culture that make skiing so enduring.