Anyone ever snow ski in The Alps?

They are not the super protected and controlled mountains you are used to. They are massive, a lot more vertical, raw, relatively un-maintained/controlled ski resorts. They put lifts to the top of anything and you can find yourself in way over your head in a lot of trouble very easily.

Remember, it's the home/origin of ski mountaineering and it's a very large part of their culture.

I am out here now in Grenoble and the skiing season has been great so far. The French Alps have recently gotten a good amount of powder the last few weeks including Alpe D'Huez, Chamonix, Les Deux Alpes, etc.

Not sure how it'll be in mid April since its my first time here, but I am planning on a trip late March to Val d'Isere and when we booked it they said it would still be great for that late in the season.

I have never skied in the Alps but while in Zermatt we did take the cable cars and ski lifts to the top of the Klein Matterhorn (Little Matterhorn) which is the mountain next to and overlooking the Matterhorn. The skiing there is for experts only. We were up there in street clothes watching the skiers wiz by. We explored a cave carved in to a glacier. When we emerged, there was a white out blizzard going on. On the way down we stopped at various levels to admire the scenery. On one side was the Matterhorn and in the other side we were looking down at the snow covered Alps with the town of Zermatt in the distance. When I am asked to identify the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen, this is my answer. It was incredible.