The Haynes Seven Top Skiing Destinations
With many peoples next holiday a Ski holiday and to celebrate
the publication of the Haynes Skiing Manual, Author and Skiing Expert Bill
Mattos has put together the top Seven skiing destinations.
Best for just skiing – Banff, Canada
Near (driving distance) Banff village are the three ski areas
of Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise. All are awesome and surprisingly
uncrowded most days. Featuring huge skiing, huge powder, huge backcountry and
bowls, or bimble gently on wide, intermediate groomers. It's all there. http://www.skibanff.com/sunshine-village/
Best for variety – Zermatt, Switzerland
With skiable slopes up to nearly 4000m and two separate
countries (Switzerland and Italy – so you’ll need your passport), Zermatt is
widely regarded as one of the best resorts in Europe. http://www.wheretoskiandsnowboard.com/resorts/Zermatt/
Best for powder –Niseko, Japan
For a balance of some of the world's best and most
consistent powder (over 15m per year) and an all-round decent score on
everything else you’d want from a ski holiday. Unless you live on Hokkaido,
Japan, it's not the easiest to get to but it is worth it... http://www.niseko-village.com/en/
Best for indoor Skiing – Ski Dubai, UAE
The city of Dubai may be a lush oasis in the middle of arid
desert, but snowy is definitely one of the things it isn't. Ski Dubai is the
first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers authentic snow, chair
lifts and an Alpine style lodge. Five runs vary in difficulty, height and
gradient, just like an outdoor resort. The longest run is 400m with a drop of
around 60m. The ski resort is also the home of twenty penguins, and some would
say that's reason enough to go there! http://www.skidubai.com
Best for bragging rights – Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
Probably the world's most famous ski resort and located at
the foot of Mont-Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and the second highest in
Europe! Chamonix-Mont-Blanc has a colossal vertical height of nearly 10,000'
(3000m) and some of the world's longest runs, like the Vallée Blanche at 13.7
miles (8.5km). While the town is somewhat hectic, the outlying resorts like
Argentieres and Les Houches are quieter places to be, but you can still access
the Cham ski area. http://www.chamonix.net
Best for high flyers – Aspen, United States
Ski with the rich and famous! It's shiny and expensive, but
it's filled with steeps and bumps, and has many groomed intermediate runs as
well. With huge areas of backcountry/off-piste skiing. Alternatively, for
hob-nobbing with the toffs a bit closer to home, try Klosters in Europe. http://www.aspensnowmass.com
Best for out of season – the rest of the world
In the northern hemisphere we often forget that the other
half have snow when we do not. Australia and New Zealand beckon to those who
crave spoken English, but for low cost and incredible scope try South America –
Chilean resort Valle Nevado, just over an hour's car journey from
Santiago, delivers reliable snow and a big selection of groomed and off-piste
areas. http://www.vallenevado.com/en/
The danger of internet research and statistics.
Powder does not fall from blue skies. If you are looking for
constant pow, you must resign yourself to many lo-vis days, which stands to
reason. Equally there is no point in trawling the internet for the maximum
snowfall resort, if all that snow falls in big dumps with weeks of freeze/thaw
in between.
Things people don't normally think about
I've always thought people have some odd criteria when
choosing where to go on a skiing trip. It's best to write a list of what's
important to you – like how many runs there are, that truly suit my skiing
ability/style, for instance.
High altitude is not always best. While it does guarantee
more snow and a longer season because the snow never thaws up there, it can
also mean ice, cold and high winds and a generally unpleasant time. Low
altitude, conversely, runs the risk of rain instead of snow, and on otherwise
fine days the snow can be slushy, making it hard work no matter what your
skiing ability. If you have to book a trip in advance, hedge for the resorts
that have a lot of runs in the middle altitudes of 2000-3000m.
In these days of modern, well managed resorts and
manufactured snow, it is unlikely that you'll find yourself without any snow.
What is worth considering is how you want to get around. Some resorts have
everything in walking distance from the village, including the ski lifts (or
even ski in/ski out for some exclusive accommodation), but some require a lot
of travel by bus or car. My number one question about a resort would be, how
long will it take me each day to get to/from a lift that can access the top?
Whatever you do and wherever you go… remember to have fun but
be safe! There is a massive range of safety equipment on the market and it is
all there to keep you safe when skiing! Year after year accidents happen on the
slope that could be avoided if the proper precautions were taken to start with
and proper equipment used. Skiing is one of the most enjoyable sports in the
world when done safely.
You can find out everything you want to know about the sport
in the Haynes Skiing Manual, out now and available at www.haynes.co.uk or all good book shops.
Haynes
