Powder, pistes and the alpine towns worth the lift ticket, ranked, with the vertical drop and the season.
The mountain makes the trip. We ranked the world’s great resorts by terrain, snow and atmosphere, with the vertical and the months that deliver.
Bottomless, feather-light powder and a buzzing international après scene. It snows relentlessly from January and the tree runs are the reason to be there. Book early: this is no longer a secret.
Steep, storied terrain beneath Mont Blanc, a magnet for strong skiers. Not a beginner's mountain. The Grands Montets and the Vallée Blanche are what people come back for.
A car-free village under the Matterhorn with vast, high, snow-sure terrain. The glacier keeps it skiing when lower resorts cannot, and the Matterhorn is in view from most of the mountain.
North America’s biggest resort, two mountains and terrain for every level. The trade-off is coastal weather: the snow falls deep and often wet. Save the alpine bowls for the clear days.
Legendary off-piste and even more legendary après-ski. The Valluga descents are serious mountaineering terrain. Take a guide for those and a plan for the rest of the night.
Four mountains and a polished, walkable Colorado town. Snowmass has the vertical, Highlands has the bowl, and Aspen Mountain has the town at its foot. One pass covers all four.
Big-mountain freeride terrain at the heart of the Four Valleys. The lift-served off-piste is world class and unpatrolled, and the Mont Fort tram is where most good days start.
An Olympic valley with steep alpine terrain and famously reliable snow. Happo-one has the pitch and the Olympic pedigree, Cortina has the trees, and one valley pass covers the lot.
A snow-sure linked giant (the Espace Killy) with a season that runs long. Tignes skis high and cold, Val d'Isère eats and drinks better. One lift pass, two very different weeks.
Northern-summer turns at a single iconic yellow hotel high in the Andes. There is no village and no lift queue, just one hotel booked by the week. That is the entire appeal.
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