The Best Ski Resorts For Athletes
For the true fitness buff, heading for the slopes doesn’t mean sacrificing your workout.
There’s no trip like a ski trip for packing in equal parts exercise, relaxation time and sightseeing. The way we see it, athletes require two things of their ideal ski destinations: Muscle-challenging ski runs and access to top-notch fitness facilities. Meg Austin, a ski expert who lives and works in Vail, Colorado, shares her favorite resorts for those who won’t take double-black diamonds without NFL-level hotel gyms.
Vail, Colorado
The skiing: “If you plan for bumps and lead your turns with your poles, they make a great core workout and a mental and physical challenge. (And if you’re not skiing right, you’ll feel it in your legs.) Vail has great bump runs; my favorite is Highline, a run under Chair 10. It’s intimidating because everyone on the chairlift watches you—and because the lift sign says ‘experts only’—but that also means there’s never a line.”
The hotel gym: The Lodge at Vail has an enviable location at the base of the two-year-old Gondola 1 (which has heated seats and wifi), a big fitness facility and a fabulous spa.
Beaver Creek, Colorado
The skiing: “Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey lift leads to three or four steep runs that are real workouts on powder days: When you can’t see the bumps, your legs become shock absorbers and you feel it in your thighs by day’s end.”
The hotel gym: The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa is ten minutes north of Beaver Creek Mountain, so it’s less expensive than Beaver Creek hotels. But it’s still skiiable: a gondola out front takes you to Bachelor Gulch, which connects to Beaver Creek’s slopes. With a salt-water lap pool overlooking Beaver Creek, the fitness center is one of the best in Colorado—and a favorite training spot of Olympic gold medal-winning ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin.
Telluride, Colorado
The skiing: “Telluride is famous for its steep-and-deep, tree-filled runs, which require you to be mentally and physically prepared: They’re like obstacle courses where you need quick wits and fit legs to turn quickly. Still, if you’re used to skiing on ice on the East Coast, you’ll find the fresh powder so forgiving.”
The hotel gym: The Peaks Resort and Spa's massive (42,000 square foot) fitness center and spa regularly draw NFL teams, who come to train at the 8750-foot altitude. It hosts at least three fitness classes a day, from barre to combination spin-and-yoga sessions.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The skiing: “Jackson Hole’s steep runs are good for the thighs: you work them a lot when you’re really edging your turns. It’s also where I learned to ski fast: The mountain is quiet and wild enough that I once happened upon a baby moose on the slopes—and ended up flying down the run to outpace her protective mom!”
The hotel gym: Utterly luxurious, the Amangani is a 20-minute drive from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. But the resort’s plush fitness facilities, personal-training sessions and expansive spa—plus incredible naturalist design—make it worth the (complimentary) ride.
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