Resort shortlists
![So much choice ... [(c) TO Aravis]](/images/sized/images/uploads/feature/GrandBornand3_sm-470x353.jpg)
So much choice ... [(c) TO Aravis]
Making your mind up
Choosing the ideal resort isn’t easy, especially if your group is a mixed bunch with very different priorities. Step in the Where to Ski and Snowboard resort shortlists, updated annually from our guide book. Here is the 2012 list.
To streamline the job of spotting the ideal destination for you, we have compiled lists of the best ten or so resorts for 22 different categories…so far.
Some lists include both European and North American resorts, but most are confined to Europe because the US has too many qualifying areas (eg for beginners), or because the US does things differently - making comparisons invalid (eg for off-piste).
You can read the overview for each resort on the site. And, of course, the book provides the comprehensive, no-nonsense guide to the whole resort.
Below are the headings that we feature in the book and will be grouped for this feature.
- SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
- RELIABLE SNOW IN THE ALPS
- INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHTS
- OFF-PISTE WONDERS
- HIGH-MILEAGE PISTE BASHING
- DRAMATIC SCENERY
- TOP TERRAIN PARKS
- CHOPAHOLICS (Heli- or Cat-skiing)
- POWDER PARADISES
- BLACK RUNS
- MOTORWAY CRUISING
- WEATHERPROOF SLOPES
- SPECIALLY FOR FAMILIES
- RESORTS FOR BEGINNERS
- BACK-DOOR RESORTS
- SNOW-SURE BUT SIMPATICO
- SPECIAL MOUNTAIN RESTAURANTS
- VILLAGE CHARM
- MODERN CONVENIENCE
- LIVELY NIGHTLIFE
- OTHER AMUSEMENTS
- CHEAPER THRILLS
What’s your level?
Choosing the right resort to match your group and ability is very important. A shortlist can help to narrow the search.
So, here is Where to Ski and Snowboard’s pick of the bunch for ‘beginners’, ‘families’ and ‘something for everyone’. Each resort has a link to its relevant review page on the site too - just click and go…
Resorts for beginners:
European resorts with gentle, snow-sure nursery slopes and easy, longer runs to progress to:
Alpe-d’Huez, France
Cervinia, Italy
Courchevel, France
Flaine, France
Montgenèvre, France
Passo Tonale, Italy
La Plagne, France
La Rosière, France
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
- Soldeu, Andorra
Specially for families:
Alpine resorts where you can easily find accommodation surrounded by snow, not by traffic and fumes.
Les Arcs, France
Avoriaz, France
Flaine, France
Lech, Austria
Montchavin (La Plagne), France
Mürren, Switzerland
Puy-St-Vincent, France
La Rosière, France
Ste-Foy, France
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Vars/Risoul, France
- Wengen, Switzerland
Something for everyone:
Resorts with everything from reassuring nursery slopes to real challenges for experts.
Alpe-d’Huez, France
Les Arcs, France
Aspen, Colorado
Courchevel, France
Flaine, France
Mammoth, California
Vail, Colorado
Val d’Isère, France
Whistler, Canada
Winter Park, Colorado
Reliable, weatherproof, snow-sure
We all hope for good snow conditions when choosing our resort. Sadly, we can’t always predict the weather. When it does snow, we look for sheltered slopes; when the sun pops out, we don’t want it melting away too fast. And sometimes we just fancy a cosy village to hole up in. Where to Ski and Snowboard shortlists some of the best.
Reliable snow in the Alps
Alpine resorts with good snow records or lots of snowmaking, and high or north-facing slopes
Bregenzerwald, Austria
Chamonix, France
Cervinia, Italy
Courchevel, France
Hintertux, Austria
Lech/Zürs, Austria
Obergurgl, Austria
Obertauern, Austria
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Sölden, Austria
Val d’Isère and Tignes, France
Val Thorens, France
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Weatherproof slopes
Alpine resorts with snow-sure slopes if the sun shines, and trees in case it doesn’t:
Les Arcs, France
Courchevel,France
Courmayeur, Italy
Laax, Switzerland
Schladming, Austria
Selva, Italy
Serre-Chevalier, France
Sestriere, Italy
- La Thuile, Italy
Snow-sure but simpatico
Alpine resorts with high-rise slopes, but low-rise, traditional-style buildings:
Andermatt, Switzerland
Arabba (Sella Ronda), Italy
Argentière (Chamonix), France
Ischgl, Austria
Lech/Zürs, Austria
Monterosa Ski, Italy
Obergurgl, Austria
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Village charm or modern convenience?
If you don’t mind where you rest you head at night, then convenience is probably more important than looks, and purpose-built doesn’t matter. Often though, chocolate-box charm wins us over and the traditional village becomes an essential part of a winter holiday choice.
Village charm
Resorts with traditional character that enriches your holiday - from mountain villages to mining towns
Champéry, Switzerland
Courmayeur, Italy
Les Gets, France
Lech, Austria
Megève, France
Mürren, Switzerland
Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland
Wengen, Switzerland
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Modern convenience
Alpine resorts where there’s plenty of slope-side accommodation to make life easy
Les Arcs, France
Avoriaz, France
Courchevel, France
Flaine, France
Les Menuires, France
Obertauern, Austria
La Plagne, France
Puy-St-Vincent, France
La Tania, France
Tignes, France
- Val Thorens, France
Cute, scenic or often overlooked
Here are some options you may not have thought about: satellite villages linked to major ski areas, resorts where you can’t take your eyes off the mountains and resorts where the skiing is better than you think - and there may not be quite so many Brits.
Back-door resorts
Cute little Alpine villages linked to big, bold ski areas, giving you the best of two different worlds
Les Brévières (Tignes), France
Champagny (La Plagne), France
Leogang (Saalbach), Austria
Montchavin (La Plagne), France
Peisey (Les Arcs), France
Le Pré (Les Arcs), France
Samoëns (Flaine), France
St-Martin (Three Valleys), France
Stuben (St Anton), Austria
- Vaujany (Alpe-d’Huez), France
Dramatic scenery
Resorts where the mountains are not just high and snowy, but spectacularly scenic too
Chamonix, France
Cortina, Italy
Courmayeur, Italy
Heavenly, California
Jungfrau resorts (Grindelwald, Mürren, Wengen), Switzerland
Lake Louise, Canada
Megève, France
Sella Ronda, Italy
Selva, Italy
St Moritz, Switzerland
- Zermatt, Switzerland
International oversights
Resorts that deserve as much attention as the ones we go back to every year, but don’t seem to get it
Alta, Utah
Andermatt, Switzerland
Bad Gastein, Austria
Big Sky, Montana
Laax, Switzerland
Monterosa Ski, Italy
Sella Ronda, Italy
Sölden, Austria
- Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland
Vars/Risoul, France
Powderhound or park trickster
Freeride, freestyle and off-piste
You want challenge, to escape the crowds, to feel free to explore the whole mountain, to dive into some untracked powder…which resorts can offer those thrills? Or maybe you prefer jumps, rails, tricks and spins - where will you find the best parks and pipes? We suggest some of the best here:
Off-piste wonders
Alpine resorts where, with the right guidance and equipment, you can have the time of your life
Alpe-d’Huez, France
Andermatt, Switzerland
Chamonix, France
Davos/Klosters, Switzerland
La Grave, France
Lech/Zürs,Austria
Monterosa Ski, Italy
St Anton, Austria
Val d’Isère/Tignes, France
- Verbier, Switzerland
Top terrain parks
Alpine resorts with the best parks, pipes and rails for all your freestyle thrills
Les Arcs, France
Avoriaz, France
Cervinia, Italy
Davos, Switzerland
Les Deux-Alpes, France
Ischgl, Austria
Laax, Switzerland
Lech, Austria
Livigno, Italy
Mayrhofen, Austria
Méribel, France
La Plagne, France
Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria
Saas Fee, Switzerland
- St Moritz, Switzerland
Chopaholics
Resorts where you can quit the lift network and have a day riding helicopters or cats
Aspen, Colorado
Courmayeur, Italy
Fernie, Canada
Lech/Zürs, Austria
Monterosa Ski, Italy
Revelstoke, Canada
La Thuile, Italy
Verbier, Switzerland
Whistler, Canada
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Powder paradises
Resorts with the snow, the terrain and (ideally) the lack of crowds that make for powder perfection
Alta/Snowbird, Utah
Andermatt, Switzerland
Big Sky, Montana
Big White, Canada
Fernie, Canada
La Grave, France
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Kicking Horse, Canada
Monterosa Ski, Italy
Revelstoke, Canada
- Ste-Foy, France
Piste of the action
What’s your piste?
You want your pistes tough, right? Maybe black runs will suffice, or a few moguls will satisfy your thirst for a challenge. Or do you like to explore; clock-up the miles; see how far you can ski in a day? A big ski area is the way to go for variety and distance. But for others (or those just starting out), that groomed, gentle cruise is a real temptation - nice and easy does it…There’s a resort waiting for your style - take a look.
Black runs
Resorts with steep, mogully, lift-served slopes within the safety of the piste network
Alta/Snowbird, Utah
Andermatt, Switzerland
Argentière (Chamonix), France
Aspen, Colorado
Beaver Creek, Colorado
Courchevel, France
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Whistler, Canada
Winter Park, Colorado
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Motorway cruising
Long, gentle, super-smooth pistes to bolster the frail confidence of those not long off the nursery slope
Les Arcs, France
Breckenridge, Colorado
Cervinia, Italy
Cortina, Italy
Courchevel, France
Megève, France
La Plagne, France
Snowmass, Colorado
La Thuile, Italy
- Vail, Colorado
High-mileage piste-bashing
Extensive intermediate slopes with big lift networks
Alpe-d’Huez, France
Davos/Klosters, Switzerland
Laax, Switzerland
Milky Way: Sauze d’Oulx (Italy), Montgenèvre (France)
Paradiski, France
Portes du Soleil, France/Switz
Sella Ronda, Italy
Selva, Italy
SkiWelt & Kitzbühel, Austria
Trois Vallées, France
Val d’Isère/Tignes, France
- Whistler, Canada
Eat, drink and be active
Mountain huts sum up many a great holiday: soak up the sun, enjoy a long lunch, grab a beer, boogie in your boots - from small, rustic and quiet to gourmet dining and special service; some resorts do it better than others. And when the skiing ends and you want to party; you’ll need to know which resorts liven-up and which have the best off-slope activities…
Special Mountain restaurants
Alpine resorts where the mountain restaurants can really add an extra dimension to your holiday
Alpe-d’Huez, France
Serre-Chevalier, France
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
Courmayeur, Italy
Kitzbühel, Austria
Megève, France
La Plagne, France
Saalbach, Austria
Selva, Italy
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Lively nightlife
European resorts where you’ll have no difficulty finding somewhere to boogie, and someone to do it with
Chamonix, France
Ischgl, Austria
Kitzbühel, Austria
Mayrhofen, Austria
Méribel, France
Pas de la Casa, Andorra
Saalbach, Austria
Sauze d’Oulx, Italy
Sölden, Austria
St Anton, Austria
Val d’Isère, France
Verbier, Switzerland
- Zermatt, Switzerland
Other amusements
Alpine resorts where those not interested in skiing or boarding can still find plenty to do
Bad Gastein, Austria
Chamonix, France
Cortina, Italy
Davos, Switzerland
Kitzbühel, Austria
Megève, France
St Moritz, Switzerland
Alpine resorts that feature near the bottom of our price survey index, with reasonably extensive slopes
Bad Gastein, Austria
Monterosa Ski, Italy
Pyrenees (Baqueira-Beret, Formigal in Spain)
Pyrenees (La Mongie, St-Lary-Soulan in France)
Sauze d’Oulx, Italy
Schladming, Austria
Sella Ronda, Italy
SkiWelt (Ellmau, Söll), Austria
Vars/Risoul, France
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