Where To Ski In Europe This Winter
Are you tired of the up-and-down ski-lift loop? Skiing in Europe has traditionally also involved traversing between peaks, towns, and villages—a peripatetic winter wonderland of snow punctuated by great meals and adventures. Several high-end outfitters specialize in precisely that.
Snow-Safari Across the Alps
For a change from the ski-lift loop—and a dose of Old World winter charm—ski point-to-point in Europe. OperatorSwisSkiSafari finds the best terrain for your ability, punctuates slope time with extraordinary meals and cultural experiences, and connects it all with overnights at both family-run mountaintop refugios and stellar hotels, like the new Six Senses Crans-Montana. On a weeklong “safari” you might: find your ski legs at Andermatt in Switzerland (where the Chedi is your base); transfer via the Glacier Express to Zermatt to ski a glacier with a guide; slow down in Crans-Montana to appreciate the panorama of peaks stretching from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc; chase powder in Verbier; and cross the border to Italy to skin (uphill ski) to a 1,000-year-old monastery at the top of the St. Bernard Pass. Heli-skiing above Lake Como followed by a Riva ride to lunch is the spectacular finale.
Ski like an olympian in Italy
The next winter Olympics aren’t until 2026, but we applaud the games’ return to their 1956 real-snow venue: Cortina d’Ampezzo. You can watch the stars of the World Cup compete there this January, or follow in their tracks with the bespoke adventure company Dolomite Mountains (based in Italy). They’ll have you testing your mettle on championship-worthy slopes at seven resorts over seven days (including Cortina, Alta Badia, Civetta, and Val Gardena).
Instead of medals, you’ll be rewarded with Michelin-star meals (say, at SanBrite) and pampered overnights at hotels like Rosa Alpina in Alta Badia and Cortina’s new Hotel de LEN, which has a rooftop spa with mountain views.
Dive Into France
The adventure company Eleven has two family-focused alpine-chic chalets (Hibou and Pelerin) within 30 minutes of seven world class ski resorts. Drop the kids at ski class and try three in one day: Play in the powder in St. Foy’s forests; lunch at Tignes’s Michelin-starred, 9,950-foot-high Le Panoramic restaurant; then ski alongside a glacier to neighboring Val d’Isere for the long descents of its Lost Valley (and its legendary après spot, La Folie Douce).
Another day, Eleven’s chopper can take you over the border to Courmayeur, Italy, to heli-ski (which is illegal in France). Anti-lift purists can skin five miles up to Eleven’s rustic hut, Le Ruitor. Nonskiing family members can be brought there to share the fire and fondue before you ski home to the hot tub.
You can also "bag peaks" in Canada, and no fly-in-heli-ski operation has refined the experience like Mica, based in Revelstoke, British Columbia. The powder is mythic, the lodge has outstanding food, and now its private four-suite chalet comes with a Koala chopper (the Ferrari of heli-skiing) and two guides—the better to conquer many mountains.
This story appears in the October 2022 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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