Now’s here’s a poser: Where in the world do you have 5,289 acres of mountain to yourself, encounter another Switzerland look-alike, 176 km of pisted ski-runs under sunny Alpine skies and movie-inspiring scenery in primordial, world heritage locales? Welcome to Vail, Barlioche, Val Gardena and Queenstown—world’s leading mountain resorts…
Vail, North America
Rated North America’s number one mountain resort for 13 out of the past 17 years by Ski Magazine, Vail is truly a mecca for winter sports enthusiasts. The mountains’ 5,289 acres include the front side, and the legendary Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin. Apart from its magnificent ski slopes, you can enjoy the magical village, with its year-round shopping, dining, nightlife and other activities. For those who have experienced the European ski slopes, a trip to Vail will come as a pleasant surprise, with its excellent all-round skiing and spectacular scenery, combined with top service, fantastic facilities, spacious pistes, no lift queues and outstanding lift systems.
What makes the North American experience so unforgettable with visitors is that it is so family-oriented, with many resorts, like Vail, offering superb ski schools and great childcare services. Vail is, by far, one of the most popular ski resorts in the US, and with ski runs available for all levels and a huge ski school of over 1200 instructors, it makes for a perfect family getaway.
The mountain areas in Vail (part of the great Rockies) are broadly divided into three distinct areas, each with its own distinct features, including four terrain parks, seven bowls and 5,289 acres of free ride terrain. At seven miles wide, there’s elbow room a-plenty for skiers because, on an average day, there are only two skiers per acre, and on a busy day, only four!
First, to get a ‘feel’ of the mountain and the largest ski resort in the US, take a virtual tour of Vail Mountain with your mouse as guide and map your routes for the day: Front Side, Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, and zoom-in on the terrain peaks.
All that hectic activity on the slopes is bound to whet one’s appetite and Vail’s mountain hospitality takes abundant care of that. At Belle’s Camp in Blue Sky Basin, Earl’s Express Lifts serves sandwiches, snack chips, candy bars, hot cocoa and bottled sodas. Also, large outdoor grills are provided, where you can grill up your own creation or make up your own picnic lunch and make an afternoon of it. Blue Moon Restaurant and Bar is a convenient stop for a hearty meal and is accessed by a quick scenic gondola ride up the mountain. You can enjoy a pub-style lunch and dinner of salads, sandwiches, entrees and cold beer, amidst a relaxed atmosphere. Buffalo’s Restaurant, located higher up, is an excellent spot to stop for a quick bite before jumping into the Black Bowls. Eagle’s Nest is one of Vail’s largest and most active restaurants, with year-round facilities. Skiers and visitors can enjoy an outdoor barbecue, a coffee house, a full service cafeteria and a casual sit-down restaurant. Game Creek Restaurant is noted for its vantage point for fabulous views, as well as for its spectacular and contemporary American and French- style cuisines. The restaurant also boasts an extensive wine list, along with superior service. One can, indeed, say of this destination, that its scenic wonder vies with its cuisine for the top honours.
Another reason why Vail has time and time again received accolades as the most frequented mountain resort, is because it cares for its visitors, as evident from Vail’s award-winning ‘Yellow Jacket’ programme, which promotes safety on the slopes. For the past three years, Vail has won the National Ski Areas Association Safety Award for devising an exemplary programme, not only for an exceptional National Safety Awareness Week, held every January, but also for its dedication to mountain safety education and enforcement , every day of the season. Among the various responsibilities entrusted upon the Yellow Jacket instructors, includes a constant vigil on the ski trails throughout the day, inculcating a sense of responsibility on the mountain in all ski and snowboard classes through the Vail Ski and Snowboard School, increasing guests’ awareness through the National Safety Awareness Week activities, and emphasising on the ‘Space, not Speed’ campaign, which is an ongoing topic with all those who ski and ride on Vail Mountain.
In Vail, if you don’t ski, it doesn’t matter. There’s a whole other world of outdoor happenings that don’t require you to have skis or boards, just an adventurous spirit. From fine-dining atop Vail Mountain to dog-sledding, live concerts to hut trips, there’s plenty in the offing. There’s much fun to be had for those looking for fun off the skis or boards. Vail attracts attention year-round, not just for its record-setting snow. It’s worthwhile checking out some of their signature events for sheer entertainment value.
Vail village offers free street beat concerts, where tourists and locals kick-off their ski boots and don dancing shoes. Check out the Vail Snow Daze, the biggest early winter season party in North America, to celebrate the snow, terrain openings and indulge in a week-long bonanza of fun and activity. Then, there’s the Dummy Gelunde World Championships, where you can watch your favourite ‘dummy’ crash and burn off the big air jump at Golden Peak. The fun continues even when the sun sets, with bar parties, fashion shows and a Dine Around Vail programme, which gives you discounts at Vail’s top restaurants. There’s more: all-week-long, look out for the Vail Snow Daze Angel Patrol, who randomly hand out freebies, such as free lunches, concert tickets, snow gear, and more. The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the mountains can be seen right here in Vail, and it’s sassy, vibrant and fun. Fat Tuesday is carnival time, with merriment, colourful costumes, great Cajun-Creole cuisine, street partying and a parade. Music from New Orleans plays throughout, while there’s also a snowboard competition and parties and fireworks galore.
Vail doesn’t forget the kids, either. From Vail Snowsports School to the on-mountain activity centre at Adventure Ridge, kids always have plenty of options for fun, with its slew of family-friendly restaurants, village activities, and more. The newly-introduced Family Activity Nights at Eagle’s Nest atop Vail Mountain, which can be reached via the gondola, promises to be a great family outing. The Vail Snowsports School has a team of experienced instructors who can initiate beginners to a broad range of exciting programmes and services.
Barlioche, South America
Barlioche, known as the Switzerland of South America, is a picture-perfect mountain village on the banks of a shimmering, pristine aquamarine lake, Lake Nahuel Huapi, and is backed by the towering spires of the Andes Mountains. It is so picturesque that it inspired the setting, in the early forties, of the Walt Disney film, Bambi. German and Swiss immigrants settled in Barlioche in the early 1900s.
It’s not for nothing that Barlioche has earned the epithet, Switzerland of South America. It has breathtaking mountain and lake scenery and its main square is modelled on the ambience and architecture of Berne, replete with St Bernards and their pups, with little kegs hanging from their collars and which one can photograph for a sum of money. Moreover, it’s the country’s chocolate capital. Add to this, the quaint shop-lined streets bedecked in wood and stone, restaurants serving Swiss and Bavarian food, artisans’ booths selling woollen handicrafts, wooden carvings and silver jewellery, Swiss-themed restaurants serving cheese fondue, and black forest cake from local chocolate shops.
It’s no surprise, then, that Barlioche is one of Argentina’s main tourist destinations, located as it is on the west of the province of Rio Negro, about 1640 km from Buenos Aires city. Founded in 1902, Barlioche owes its name to Carlos Wiederhold, who set up the first grocery shop in the area.
Mount Cathedral is one of the most important ski resorts in Argentina and is visited by more and more enthusiasts of snow sports every winter season. Come winter, and Barlioche comes alive with its range of winter sports, from skiing to mountain biking, snowboarding, while snow polo and paragliding can be practiced in Cerro Cathedral, which is less than 20 km from town. By day, you can have your pick of any one of many activities, with 67 km of rinks, cable cars, hotels, tea houses, shopping centers and sports schools. By night, you could shake a leg at a disco or choose your favourite watering hole, visit a casino. But Barlioche’s attractions don’t end with snow, sports or eateries. You can make up your own tour and experience the best hotel and gastronomic delights in exclusive places like Llao Llao, where you can play golf in one of the most idyllic scapes ever. Campers can enjoy outstanding sunsets from inns, shelters and camps in the mountains or on the shore of a lake.
Val Gardena, Europe
A top tourist resort located in The Dolomites, which is the most attractive part of the Italian Alps, this prime destination is the heart of Europe’s largest skiing area. Val Gardena is in the news not only for its winter sports championships, but also because it happens to be the annual meeting point of the world’s elite. With its connection to the Dolomiti Superski, the world’s largest ski carousel and the nearby Alpe di Siusi, it is the el dorado for all winter sports lovers. With the Skipass Dolomiti Superski, you have access to all lift facilities in the Dolomites, with 500 km interconnected slopes surrounding the Sella Group and a total of 1,220 km slopes in 12 zones. Val Gardena offers low and steep pistes, easy and extreme downhill runs, the most modern lift facilities and romantic hut experiences.
Val Gardena is a 25 km-long tributary valley of Val d’ Isarco and is located northwest of the majestic summits of the Dolomites. It is one of the most beautiful and varied holiday resorts in all of Italy. In the winter, skiers will find countless ski slopes and cross-country ski runs, as well as numerous ski lifts and gondolas. In the summer, there’s scope for adventure lovers to go trekking, hiking, climbing, cycling and fishing.
Because of its sheltered position, this part of the Southern Tyrol enjoys sunny weather throughout the winter. It’s easy to see why tourism is an important industry here. Given its super weather, its great sporting facilities and scenic splendour, it also has a centuries-old tradition and a rich history.
Once a part of Austria, the locals speak German, Italian and an old Romanic language—Ladin. This is wine country, so you could partake in the ancient “Torggelen” tradition, which is one of the procedures in the wine-making process, or take a wine trip, i.e. be a part of the wine-tasting gatherings organised by the locals. Visit the towns of Ortisei, S Cristina and Selva Gardena, which have spectacular alpine meadows, and ski pistes which rise up to 2518 m. So, come to Val Gardena, this fairytale world of white winter enchantment, with its crystal clear air, wide meadows and the awesome Dolomite Mountains covered in snow.
Queenstown, New Zealand
Remember the scene in Lord of the Rings, where Gandalf rides towards Gondor, where the refugees escaped from Rohan, or the ancient forest scenes of Lothlorien or Deer Park Heights? These and many other places in Queenstown and surrounding areas are the spectacular backdrops that were employed for all three of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. It’s easy to see why Jackson chose this region for his film locations.
Apart from the stunningly inspiring scenery, there is a deep cultural bent to this area, and primordial world heritage areas sit alongside tourist resorts, pertaining to international standards.
Set amidst the magnificent landscapes of the Southern Alps, Queenstown is New Zealand’s premier, four-season lake and resort, and truly the jewel in New Zealand’s tourist crown. It’s rugged Alpine mountain slopes are perfect for skiing, but Queenstown is also a fun-loving, adventure-filled that has much to offer for the intrepid traveller. There’s bungee-jumping, jet boat river riding, whitewater-rafting, paragliding, skiing, climbing, and much more.
Winter in Queenstown is a magical season of snow-capped mountains and blue skies, and recognised as the number-one winter destination of the Southern Hemisphere. Winter activity centres on the alpine playgrounds of Queenstown and Lake Wanaka.
The Cardrona Alpine Resort is a relaxed and friendly ski and snowboard resort, located between Queenstown and Waraka in New Zealand. There are special slopes for beginners, wide-open groomed slopes for the intermediates, and chutes for the advanced.
The Remarkables is a 45-minute drive from Queenstown, and offers a true alpine experience in three sunny bowls, where 220 ski-able hectares of terrain spreads across 700 hectares of reserve. It’s a great place to soak in the winter sun and is popular with the young.
Ever been heli-skiing? Harris Mountains offers the ultimate snow experience for a skier or boarder who wishes to go heli-skiing. The helicopter flies you to challenging peaks and you can ski or board down exhilarating slopes.
And, of course, for all Lord of the Rings fans, there are organised tours to all the spectacular locations that you saw in the movie and marvelled at.