Slopes and dreams
From starting your run by helicopter to après-ski with animals, Tom Jordan rounds up some of the best hidden (for now) winter sport resorts around the world
1 Sochi, Russia
Russia, with gloves
Location: Sochi, Russia The surprise choice to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, due to a current lack of high-end ski facilities at the popular Black Sea summer spot. But three of the new Olympic resorts are ready to debut to the skiing public in the 2011-12 season, so now’s the chance to be among the first to hit these soon-to-be-famous slopes.
Price: Week’s pass from €50 at Gazprom Resort (www.eng.rus-sochi.ru/ski)
Fly to: Moscow
2 Uludag, Turkey
Cold Turkey
Location: Uludag, Turkey One of Asia’s most westerly ski resorts, Uludag is where Istanbulites head for winter fun. Facilities are average, but, as in nearby Iran and Lebanon, the mixture of snowy slopes and near-east culture makes for a memorable experience. The town of Bursa is packed with Ottoman atmosphere.
Price: Day pass from €12, six-day pass from €37 for resort guests (www.uludagski.com)
Fly to: Istanbul
3 Las Leñas, Argentina
Andes offto a flier
Location: Las Leñas, Argentina When the powder’s long gone in the northern hemisphere, dedicated European skiers up poles and fly south for another winter. Argentina has some great Andean resorts, and the well-to-do from Buenos Aires flock to Las Leñas. International visitors are beginning to be attracted too by the challenging slopes and breathtaking South American scenery.
Price: Seven-day pass from €205 (www.laslenasski.com)
Fly to: Buenos Aires
4 Over the top
Location: Swiss, Italian and French Alps For uncharted off-piste action, Bond-style, leave the Alp’s hordes far behind and get dropped off by helicopter in the remote upper reaches of the range. Swiss Ski Safari runs five-day ‘three valleys, three countries’ trips, airlifting participants to empty slopes in France, Italy and Switzerland. Just watch out for marauding evil henchmen.
Price: From €5,000 for a five-day itinerary (www.swisskisafari.com)
Fly to: Geneva
5 Mount Hood, USA
Rise and ShiningLocation: Mount Hood, Oregon, USA It’s possible to hit the volcanic slopes of Oregon’s tallest peak year round thanks to the Palmer Glacier. Summer attracts crazy boarders keen to try out new stunts, but it’s not just the temperatures that provide a shiver; one of the resorts, Timberline Lodge, was used as the hotel exterior in horror flick The Shining.
Price: Daily pass from €41 (www.skihood.com)
Fly to: Portland
6 Shiga Kogen, Japan
Show me the monkeys!
Location: Shiga Kogen, Nagano Prefecture, Japan After a day sampling some of Shiga Kogen’s 84 first-class runs, learn how to do après-ski from local experts: Japanese macaque, aka snow monkeys, who take the chill off as they bathe in nature’s own hot tubs at Nagano’s Jigokudani Monkey Park. Homosapien skiers can follow suit (in their own geothermal pools, of course).
Price: Five-day pass from €196 (www.shigakogen.gr.jp/english)
Fly to: Tokyo
