Here are the top four ski resorts still on Miles Clark’s personal ski bucket list as a professional freeskier. After exploring over 50+ ski areas across five continents, these ski resorts present unique travel experiences in countries many people don’t even realize they can ski in.
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4. La Grave, France
This is straight-up ski mountaineering off a chairlift. Well, it’s a pulse gondola, which is very unique. There are no groomed runs, there are no ropes, there’s no ski patrol, and you are completely on your own. It’s just huge mountains, 7,500 vertical feet of skiing, and all the adventure skiing that you can handle.
3. Gulmarg, India
Gulmarg has a gondola that goes up to 14,000 feet with huge, wide-open slopes. It’s unique because you can ski with monkeys and snow leopards, which is insane. The ski area is difficult to reach for people traveling from outside of India, but it has been said it is well worth the trip.
2. Shymbulak, Kazakhstan
This place has incredible terrain in the side country. There are really great backcountry and heli-skiing opportunities. The terrain in the Tian Shen Mountains rivals that of Alaska.
1. Rosa Khutor, Russia
This place has incredible, sick spine skiing right off the chairlift. It’s next to Sochi, Russia, a beautiful city that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. For Europeans and Americans, current geopolitical conflicts make a ski trip to Russia a poor idea, so it may be many years before such a trip is feasible.
Hopefully, this list will open your eyes to the unique variety of ski resorts worldwide. The best ski trips are not only ones with great skiing but also ones where you can experience the unique culture of the place you are visiting.
