Top 10 ski resorts that are bigger this season
Want more piste for your pound? These resorts are all expanding
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
The ski industry is a competitive business these days, and resorts have to keep changing things up and adding new facilities and terrains to stay in the game. All of which is good news for skiers looking for more to do, both on and off the slopes.
Here are 10 European ski resorts that are making some of the most exciting improvements this season.
France
What’s it like?
Frictionless borders – that promise of so many Brexit deals – don’t come much smoother than when you ski from one country to the next. And while it’s not as famous as Zermatt or the Portes du Soleil, the combined area of sunny La Rosière in France and La Thuile in Italy is a cross-border gem.
Europe’s best ski chalets
Show all 10There are many advantages of the combined area, including cheaper prices in Italy, and being able to pop over to get a light, delicious pizza for lunch if you ever over-indulge on the fondue or tartiflette the day before.
How’s it growing?
In the biggest resort expansion of the season, a new area has been opened on the French side, with five new red pistes served by two high-speed chairlifts. It will create a new high point at 2,800m with views of Mont Blanc, and many more possibilities to go off-piste on this snowsure face of the mountain.
Extra terrain
Five new red pistes and many more off-piste possibilities.
Total pistes
152km
What’s it like?
Sitting high above its neighbours, like an eagle’s eerie, Val Thorens is the most snowsure of the Three Valleys’ resorts and the highest resort in Europe. From here you can ascend higher still, up to the glacier. Or you can swoop down to Les Menuires and the tree-lined slopes of more traditional St Martin de Belleville below. And then of course you can hop over the ridge into Méribel and Courchevel.
How’s it growing?
You’ll want to try one of Val Thorens’ highest peaks, the Cime Caron at 3,200m. But until now, there have only been tricky black and red runs from the summit. This year, a much easier 3.2km-long piste runs from the top. Hardcore skiers needn’t mope though; a new black run has been created in the Boismint area, which previously had only red and blue runs.
Extra terrain
Two new runs, totalling nearly 4km.
Total pistes
542km
What’s it like?
Val d’Isère is a favourite among Brits. Beautiful stone-clad blocks host bars, restaurants and clubs, and the skiing is hugely varied, ranging from charming runs through the woods to the challenging black Face piste. The off-piste possibilities are endless too. There are slopes you would only do with a guide around the Glacier du Pissaillas. Then there is the Vallée Perdue route, which can be enjoyed by very adventurous families. And that’s before you’ve crossed into the linked resort of Tignes...
How’s it growing?
For six years, skiers and snowboarders wanting to cross into the Fornet valley had to take the “up-and-over” Fornet chairlift. Only those who took the mantra “death before download” literally would jump off in the middle to ski down the Leissières ridge. But this season, the Téléski des 3000 draglift, which runs to near the top of the ridge, is open again and you can go through a tunnel and down a black slope to reach Le Fornet and the Pissaillas glacier without taking any lifts downhill.
Extra terrain
Two new black runs that are likely to remain unpisted, plus more freeride possibilities.
Total pistes
236km
What’s it like?
For the most stress-free journey to the Alps you need only take the Ski Train from St Pancras to Bourg St Maurice and from there, the funicular to Arc 1600. That’s fewer connections than the daily commute for most of us.
Some of Les Arcs’ villages, such as Arc 1600, are nestled nicely in the treeline. The newest and prettiest, Arc 1950 village, has an almost Disney-esque feel, with cafés and hotels lining the pistes.
In terms of skiing, you’re spoilt for choice: in Les Arcs alone there is plenty to explore, from wooded slopes under cliffs to high altitude runs. Plus there’s the double-decker Vanoise Express cable car taking you to the neighbouring resort of La Plagne.
How’s it growing?
Below Arc 1950, an unpisted route has been turned into a red. Skiers will be able to take the new “Secret” piste under the equally new Comborcière lift through a valley that was previously known only to hardy locals.
Extra terrain
One new red run just over 2km long.
Total pistes
402km
Austria
What’s it like?
One of the most snowsure of Austria’s resorts, with even its lowest runs above 1,800m, Obergurgl is a regular favourite among British skiers, particularly those travelling early or late in the season. Large, stylish hotels with sumptuous spas line its streets and, this being Austria, some even have their own après-ski bars.
At this altitude, most of the runs are above the treeline with cracking views. And if you want to go higher still, you can do the 20-minute bus ride to nearby Sölden, whose 144km of runs are covered by the same lift pass from this winter.
How’s it growing?
The completion of the second section of the Kirchenkarbahn gondola in the Hochgurgl side of the area means skiers can reach the top station at 2,839m, and find varied powder terrain to the left and right on the northeast-facing slopes below the Kirchenkogl summit. But skiers who prefer to stick to the piste are well served too, with a new blue run and red offshoots weaving down from the peak. Bikers will want to stop in at the world’s highest motorcycle museum at the base station.
Extra terrain
A new blue and red run, with a total length of 2.5km, and extra freeride possibilities.
Total pistes
112km
What’s it like?
In this traditional Austrian village, the cows are still led down from the Alpine pastures to winter in town. And when they are, those same fields become miles of cruisey pistes for intermediates interested in exploring new pastures every day. There is no shortage of possibilities as Maria Alm is now fully linked to the Hochkönig ski area, with its 120km of linked pistes. The lift pass also allows you to ski in other sectors of the Ski Amadé network.
How’s it growing?
For years, skiers staying in Maria Alm had to take a bus back after skiing in the wider Hochkönig area. But this season the construction of a new piste, along with two new lifts, means that they can ski all the way back into town. Best of all, those attempting the “Königstour” of the five summits in the region now have a sixth summit to tick off on this five-hour circuit, where you never have to take the same lift twice and get idyllic views from romantic mountain huts.
Extra terrain
One new piste. It’s not long, but it’s critical as it means the full 120km are fully linked.
Total pistes
120km
Spain
What’s it like?
For those who like their skiing sunny, Baqueira Beret has an extensive network of linked pistes that now stretch up to 2,610m. Some traditional stone cottages serve as restaurants and cafés, and the prices in them are affordable. The Pyrenees have had a succession of good winters, even when lower resorts in the Alps suffered, raising their profile among British skiers. And the major new resort expansion is good news for those seeking more variety in between eating paella on sun-soaked terraces with the scent of pines in the air.
How’s it growing?
An entirely new mountainside has been opened, with the new draglift to the Baciver peak serving 8km of freshly created red runs, increasing the total piste length by more than 5 per cent. This also opens up a decent off-piste area. Affordable heli-skiing is possible in nearby Vielha. Back in the resort, beginners have a new three-seat chairlift giving access to green runs.
Extra terrain
Five new red runs totalling 8km and access to a large off-piste area.
Total pistes
132km
Italy
What’s it like?
The Dolomites are increasingly luring British skiers, drawn to the beauty of the mountains, which glow pink in the setting sun, the excellent Italian cuisine, the reasonable prices and the vast network of pistes in the Dolomiti Superski region, with tour operators such as Crystal Ski offering seven resorts here now. Most popular are resorts on the Sella Ronda circuit around the stunning Sella Gruppo peak. You can do this circuit in five hours, either clockwise or anticlockwise, which is a fun challenge.
How’s it growing?
Three new runs, all fully covered by snow cannons, have been added. In Val di Fiemme, the new tree-lined Busabella piste is a welcome addition on the Alpe Cermis mountain, particularly on white-out days. In Jochtal, the new “Wastl Huber” slope can be accessed by the new Ski Express gondola. And in Sesto, the new Signaue II trail leads down to the village.
Extra terrain
Three runs, totalling 5km.
Total pistes
The Dolomiti Superski pass covers more than 1,000km of pistes, served by 450 lifts, while the Sella Ronda circuit alone has a total piste length of 374km.
Switzerland
What’s it like?
Like the hands of would-be lovers, the pistes of Andermatt and Sedrun have been inching closer together over the past three years until finally this season they became fully entwined. The result is 120km of pistes and several hectares of off-piste, not least around the almost mythical Gemsstock mountain, which is regularly lost in the clouds.
This is very much an arranged marriage, with Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris funding the £1bn-plus project. And, unsurprisingly, the new hotels being erected in Andermatt are not cheap. But at least Sedrun now offers a slightly more affordable way to explore the combined area.
How’s it growing?
The last new route from Oberalppass to the Schneehüenerstock was finished in time for this season. This means you can now ski or snowboard between Andermatt and Sedrun in both directions. The piste will be ungroomed, so nervous intermediates may still prefer to download in the new gondola, but on a powder day the trail should prove a fabulous ride.
Extra terrain
New 2.2km off-piste “itinerary” means 120km of slopes are fully linked.
Total pistes
120km
Finland
What’s it like?
Ruka is the most easterly of Finland’s big three resorts, and an influx of Russian skiers gives it a more cosmopolitan flavour than Levi or Ylläs. But like them, it is easy to reach from the UK, with major tour operators such as Crystal Ski offering direct flights to Kuusamo, which is just 20 minutes away.
Lapland is traditionally popular with families looking for alternative winter activities, such as dog-sledding. But many Brits rate it highly for off-piste, as intermediate skiers can weave between the widely spaced trees to the side of the slopes, giving them an easy introduction to freeride skiing.
How’s it growing?
When it’s cold in Lapland, it’s really cold, which is why the extension of Ruka’s Village-2-Valley gondola is a necessity. But there is also the new VillageExpress chairlift, and under it, a new slope leading off the black, FIS-certified race slope, which will be welcomed by anyone struggling down this surprisingly steep face. And the final part of Front Slope 1 will be flattened and widened.
Extra terrain
New 650m red “escape route” off the race run.
Total pistes
20km
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies