So you’ve done the Val d’Isere, St. Anton, Whistler and Vail thing. And by that, I mean you’ve skied in pretty traditional ski resorts, those in western Europe and north America, and maybe you’ve ventured to Japan and New Zealand. But if you want some obscure ski areas to add to the bragging list, read on…
Morocco
Only 45 miles from the busy tourist destination of Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco are home to several ski areas. Oukaïmeden is seen as the main ski area in the Atlas Mountains, and is Africa’s highest ski resort. The main village sits at 2,600m and the chairlift takes you to the Jebel Attar peak at 3,258m. The runs in Oukaïmeden are limited to the nursery slopes and 5 runs for more advanced skiers, and skiing is best in January and February, so you might not head there for a full week of intense skiing.
India
You might need to watch for altitude sickness signs in India’s main resort of Gulmarg where the world’s highest gondola takes you to just over 4,000m and some of the bowls leading from the summit offer you 1,200m of vertical descent! Kashmir in India offers adventure seekers some amazing ski opportunities, with excellent heli-skiing and less groomed ski areas than you’ll traditionally find in Europe or north America.
Uganda
Yes, another African ski area. The Rwenzori Mountains on the Ugandan and Democratic Republic of Congo are home to Africa’s third highest peak, Mount Margherita at 5,109m. This isn’t a ski area for traditional ski holidays, there are no commercialised ski areas, but full of opportunities for high-altitude ski touring, and you might even get the rare chance to spot chimpanzees and mountain gorillas during your trip.
Cyprus
Whilst it is a member of the European Union, it’s not a country you’d traditionally think about when booking a winter sports holiday, it’s more likely you’ll be booking a sunny beach break. However, you can find four ski slopes on famous Mount Olympus, in the mountain range of Troodos. In true British ski pioneering style, the resort was built and operated by the British army after WWII when Cyprus became an important supply and training base. Now operated by the Cyprus Ski Club, there are now 4 lifts and 16 runs, a total of 10km on offer.
China
It doesn’t have a long history of skiing and the oldest resort only dates back to 1957, but China is the host nation for the 2022 winter Olympics. Beijing will mainly be relying on artificial snow, but there are a handful of ski resorts in the surrounding area. Around $100 million has recently been invested in modernising Chinese resorts, and skier numbers are up from 10,000 in 1996 to 5 million in 2010. Keep your eyes peeled for more development on the road to 2022.
And don’t forget our plug for the UK, Scotland in particular, there’s some great skiing to be had up there at the moment!
