Snow in Colorado and Utah is often slightly less plentiful than in Whistler but is very dry and the result is the lightest and best powder in the world. Locals and marketing departments are never short of superlatives to describe them, but the ski areas are not quite as extensive as their European rivals in terms of terrain, vertical drop or number of lifts.
We have chosen the resorts that have plenty for a great week, even for expert skiers. The treeline in most North American resorts goes right to the top. As a result, visibility is never much of a problem and because sections are gladed the trees thinned the tree skiing can be spectacular. Huge pride is taken in grooming piste bashing.
For the hard-core, there is variable terrain and plenty of moguls. The system of grades is slightly different too. The Americans and Canadians are streets ahead in organisation and service. We can help you find your nearest one, and get you on skis or a snowboard regardless of the time of year, or lack of mountains.
Oh, and we do have a few of those as well! Continue Change settings. Disability Snowsports. Getting Started. Planning your Trip. Seasonnaire Life.
Skiing in the Rest of the World. Sustainability in Snowsports. Family Skiing. Before you go. Mountain Safety. In the UK. Summer Skiing in Europe If you can't bear to stay away from the snow, you can get your summer skiing fix on glaciers across the Alps where the snow rarely melts!
Austria Hintertux At the top of the Ziller Valley, up the road from the popular resort of Mayrhofen the Hintertuxer Gletscher is open all year round. Stubai The closest glacier ski area to Innsbruck airport 43km , the Stubai Glacier, is open until early July, then again in September once the warmest summer months are over. France Tignes The Grande Motte glacier at Tignes is open for most of the summer and offers a good variety of summer skiing. Italy Val Senales Close to the popular spa resort town of Meran, the glacier at Val Senales is open throughout the summer season for snowsports.
Cervinia The Plateau Rosa glacier at Cervinia is one of the smaller Italian glaciers, but still worth putting on your list. Switzerland Zermatt There is a big glacier at Zermatt open almost year round, though the terrain is fairly flat compared with other skiable glaciers.
Saas-Fee Saas-Fee has a great glacier which is usually open from the beginning of July, with 20km of slopes at the Allalin summer ski area, sitting at m. Scandinavia Fonna The small glacier at Fonna in Norway is one of the most reliable places to ski in the summer, thanks to abundant winter snowfall.
Add to favourites Added. Moritz, Switzerland. The number of world ski competitions that have been hosted at St. Moritz should tell you something about this famous resort: this is world-class skiing. The Winter Olympics were held here in and , and you can often see competitions at its Olympic ski-jump. There's plenty of ski terrain for non-Olympians, too. Moritz is known for its long intermediate runs and other outstanding intermediate terrain , and with more than 20 lifts to choose from, you'll find slopes and pistes for every skill level.
Above St. Moritz and reached from town by the Corviglia Funicular, trails from the 2,meter town of Corviglia have magnificent Alpine views. Moritz is one of Europe's first - some claim the first - winter resorts, and it still has a smart clientele and distinct air of luxury.
There are plenty of things to do besides skiing: ice skating, tobogganing, Nordic skiing, bobsledding, and kite skiing.
The St. Moritz Ice Cricket event will be held as scheduled, February , Val Gardena, Italy. With the same world-class skiing as its neighboring Dolomite resort Cortina D'Ampezzo, but without the glitz or prices, the villages of Val Gardena offer a more casual, low-key experience.
Val Gardena's kilometers of trails and lifts connect with those in several adjacent valleys between the peaks of the Gruppo del Sella, creating nearly kilometers of interconnected skiing that includes the Marmolada Glacier. Nearly two-thirds of the terrain reached from Val Gardena is for advanced and expert skiers, one of the highest percentages in the Dolomites. But beginning and intermediate skiers still have more than kilometers to enjoy. Go to Cortina for that. Instead, you'll find a relaxing and friendly atmosphere of authentic Alpine hospitality, as well as small lodges and traditional inns serving local cuisine.
People come here for the skiing experiences, such as skiing four runs used for the men's and women's downhill and giant slalom World Championship races , with average gradients of more than 25 percent. The new experts-only La Ria run, starting from the Dantercepies cable car, has inclines as great as 52 percent in places.
Along with ample natural snow and state-of-the art grooming. Val Gardena's infrastructure is top-of-the-line. Its 81 lifts include Italy's first eight-seater chairlift with heated seats , on the Piz Sella, offering a direct connection to the Sellaronda route. Val Gardena is included in the Dolomiti SuperSki pass, allowing access to 11 other resorts in the region. Zugspitze, Germany.
Rising to 2, meters, Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain, and its popularity with skiers is enhanced by the beautiful Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at its foot. From its summit, which can now be accessed by a new cable car, extends a degree panorama that reaches as far as kilometers and includes mountain peaks in four countries.
From the top of the lifts, you can ski the glacier , 2, meters above sea level - so high that it is often above clouds that cover the valley skies.
All levels of skiers will find plenty of choices in the 40 kilometers of trails at the Garmisch-Classic ski area, interlinked across three mountains: Hausberg, Kreuzeck, and Alpspitze.
For extreme challenges, there's the famed Kandahar Downhill and other courses that were used in the Winter Olympics and since then for the International Alpine Skiing Championships. A popular Olympic legacy is the Ice Stadium used for the winter games, now open for public skating. You can take lessons here at all levels, including speed skating and ice dancing.
The area around Garmisch-Partenkirchen is networked with cross-country ski and snowshoe trails, and surrounded by spectacular Alpine views. Accommodation: Where to Stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Aosta Valley, Courmayeur, Italy. Combining the challenges of terrain best suited to experts and intermediates with the glamour of the most haute Swiss and French ski resorts, Courmayeur is the place to be seen for the upscale ski set from Milan and Turin.
The setting — and skiing — on the flank of Mont Blanc, the Alps' highest mountain, is an undeniable draw. With or without skis, ride the Funivie Monte Bianco cable car to the ridgeline for views from the top of Europe. The expert-only pistes from the Arp are unmarked and when they are open at all, you can only ski them with a guide; the same goes for Courmayeur's abundant off-piste ski terrain.
In nearby Dolonne are slopes suitable for beginners, but this region is better suited to experienced skiers. Nordic skiers, however will love the kilometer network of cross-country trails beginning in Val Ferret, just outside Courmayeur.
The surrounding scenery doesn't get much better. As you might imagine from the clientele, lodging and dining in Courmayeur is pricey. Accommodation: Where to Stay in Courmayeur. Kleine Scheidegg Ski Resort. The multiple meter-plus peaks of the Jungfrau massif can depend on reliably deep snow, and the ski resorts here are famed for their long runs. The steep slopes and high-altitude valleys offer skiers and boarders a combined total of kilometers of ski runs , with idyllic little Alpine villages of chalets and lodges to come home to after a day in the snow.
This is the site of the annual Inferno Race, the world's biggest amateur ski competition. Dozens of cable cars and lifts will take you to runs as long as 12 kilometers. It's not all white-knuckle steeps.
Slopes close to the Alpine town of Wengen are good for beginning skiers and intermediates, while freestylers will find thrills at the Grindelwald-First superpipe and off-piste terrain. Accommodation: Where to Stay in Jungfrau. North American skiers will find some differences in the trail rankings. In Europe, pistes are classified by a color-coded system indicated by blue easy , red intermediate , and black expert trail signs; note that these are not always coded by shapes.
In France, most black trails are not groomed, and elsewhere ungroomed trails may be indicated by dotted or dashed lines. The total number of ski resorts in Europe is staggering, and even the number of full-service, international-class resorts is impressive, so the list above is not to suggest that these are the only places to find fantastic skiing and great winter vacation experiences.
These popular resorts are also worth adding to your options. Superb natural snowfall and a variety of terrain give it plenty to attract even expert skiers, who get their thrills on a challenging 1,meter descent from Mont Vallon, through unparalleled Alpine scenery.
More than 20 trails are marked for intermediate skiers, some of them broad cruisers at higher altitudes.
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