Schladming (Austria) — Skiers and snowboarders flock to this former mining town for the huge range of terrain. It includes some tough black runs, including the slopes used for the annual World Cup night slalom. Moreover, the World Ski Championships were held here last winter, resulting in several new, incredibly fast lifts.
Les Orres is one of the newer French resorts. Built in 2008, it’s good for families, with an extensive network of groomed runs and childcare facilities. It has more than 100 kilometers of ski-able terrain, and its location, in the middle of a forest overlooking the Serre-Ponçon lake, is spectacular.There are a number of reasons to visit this Austrian resort in 2014, but the pièce de résistance is a new cable car that will open up the mostly untouched snow fields below the Piz Val Gronda peak — in the past, skiers and snowboarders have had to be towed to the area by snowmobile.Jay Peak gets the most snow of any resort in eastern North America, and has a huge range of terrain. Almost all of the lodging is ski-in, ski-out, and this year the resort is spending $43 million on improvements, including a new 80,000-square-foot hotel and lodge.The small resort of Lech-Zürs is getting bigger — this winter it’ll be connected to nearby Warth-Schröcken by a two-kilometer-long ropeway ski lift, meaning visitors can now access 47 lifts.Sugar Bowl already has some of the United States’ best tree runs. This year, a new chairlift will provide advanced skiers with easy access to the challenging Crow’s Face and Strawberry Fields areas, previously reached only by hiking.Red Mountain resort is about to double in size, thanks to the development of adjacent Grey Mountain. Skiers will be rewarded with spectacular views and 360-degree skiing off the peak, giving Red Mountain resort a total of 2,682 ski-able acres.This beautiful resort is a great starting point for those who’ve never skied in Japan before. There are no nightclubs or bars, just lots of snow — by mid-season there’s usually around four meters.With more than 100 kilometers of trails and 116 ski runs, Spain’s most popular ski area is located just 32 kilometers from Granada.Sunday River has a number of exciting developments this winter, including a new, 15-acre terrain park designed by Sochi-bound free-ski athlete Simon Dumont, and 60 acres of glades that have been opened for tree skiing.The Spanish royal family are fans of this ski area in the region of Lleida in western Catalonia, which caters to snowboarders and skiers of all abilities.The Aletsch Arena is located on the edge of Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, comprising three car-free villages connected by lifts.For equally fantastic skiing at half the price, there’s nearby Arosa. At 2,653 meters (8,704 feet) above sea level, it’s one of Switzerland’s most snow-sure resorts.This severely underestimated German ski resort, a 90-minute train journey from Munich, offers world-class skiing across three mountains.
