World Ski Resorts Guide
North America
The mountains of the USA and Canada are home to hundreds of ski resorts, attracting people from all across the world. The most famous resorts include Jackson Hole and Whistler. The best time for ski and snowboarding is December and January.
Europe
Arguably the home of skiing, the central Alpine mountains have long been a honey pot for winter sports with hundred of superb resorts with names well known to skiers and non skiers alike. The mountains span the countries of France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy with major centres of population within easy reach of the pistes.
As well as the more famous Alps, other fantastic resorts are to be found on the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain and also in the many snowbound regions of Scandinavia, all of which have a rich tradition of winter sports. There are also emerging resorts in many of the Eastern European countries, such as Slovenia and Poland. The best time for skiing is January and February.
South America
Although not particularly well known in Europe, there are plenty of excellent ski resorts in some of the South American counties, especially along the Andes mountains. Argentina and Bolivia are both well worth a visit with excellent snow conditions in July, August or September.
Australasia
The South Island of New Zealand has a range of mountains called the Southern Alps which stretch for 550 kilometers. The most famous resort is Coronet Peak which has facilities for night skiing and heli skiing! Australia also has a number of small resorts, located in the Australian Alps. Although probably not the first place you’d think of as a place to ski, Australia can have its fair share of snow. Best conditions can be found between July and October.
Asia and the Middle East
Best known of the Asian ski resorts are those in Japan, where skiing and snowboarding have a big following. The resorts of Nagano are possibly the most well known, since they hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1998.
Other ski, snowboarding and winter sports hot spots in Asia include South Korea, Kazakhstan and China.
Africa
Like Australia, Africa probably isn’t the first place you’d head for if you fancied a spot of skiing. The resorts may be small but there is good quality skiing to be had in a number of African countries. South Africa has a number of resorts, as do the Atlas mountains of Morocco. The best time for snow in Morocco is January and in South Africa is July to September.