What are the 50 largest ski resorts?

Answer 1

That's an increadibly hard question to answer picking the 50 largest ski resort but I think the list is more or less complete. The top 20 is most certainly the 20 biggest, in the positions after that there might be some resorts that I missed. There are so many of them in that size...

So here is the 50 (there's actually a draw in the positions around 50 so the list has more than 50 resorts) largest linked (piste or lift) ski areas in the world, their piste length in km and country. For the top 19 is also the number of lifts and transport capacity per hour shown.

1. Les 3 Vallées 600 196 242.000 France

2. Paradiski 425 187 210.000 France

3. Via Lattea 400 78 110.000 Italy & France

4. Sella ronda 330 155 240.000 Italy, which is a part of Dolomiti Superski

5. Les Sybelles 310 71 80.000 France

6. 4 Vallées 300 64 65.000 Switzerland

7. Matterhorn ski paradise 300 58 99.500 Switzerland & Italy

8. Espace Killy 300 94 136.000 France

9. Avoriaz 270, 79, 100.000 France & Switzerland, which is part of Portes du Soleil

10. Skiwelt 263 91 138.000 Austria

11. Alpe d´Huez 250 81 102.600 France

12. Serre Chevalier 250 68 71.000 France

13. Silvretta Arena 226 41 83.065 Austria & Switzerland

14. Megève 225 63 38.000 (without Combloux part) France

15. Le Grand Massif 220 63 75.000 France

16. Grand Valira 205 66 100.700 Andorra

17. Les Deux Alpes 203 54 66.000 France

18. Saalbach 200 55 75.000 Austria

19. Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis 196 40 87.250 Austria

20. Espace Diamant 185 France

21. Risoul/Vars 185 France

22. Val d'Allos 180 France

23. Hochfuegen/Hochzillertal 181 Austria

24. Laax 177 Switzerland

25. Espace San Bernardo 160 France & Italy

26. Lenzerheide 155 Switzerland

27. Silvretta Montafon 152 Austria

28. Valmorel 150 France

29. Valloire/Valmeinier 150 France

30. Morzine 150 (without the Avoriaz part) France

31. Zillertal arena 150 Austria

32. Madonna di Campiglio 150 Italy

33. Whistler-Blackcomb 150 Canada

34. Sölden 146 Austria

35. Mayrhofen 140 Austria

36. Kitzbühel 140 Austria

37. Davos/Klosters 140 Switzerland

38. Crans-Montana 140 Switzerland

39. Auron 135 France

40. La Clusaz 130 France

41. St Anton 130 Austria

42. Mondolé 130 Italy

43. Monterosa ski 130 Italy

44. Val Cenis 125 France

45. Espace Villard-Corrençon 125 France

46. Les Contamines 120 France

47. Isola2000 120 France

48. Obersaxen/Mundaun 120 Switzerland

49. Corvatsch 116 Switzerland

50. Schladming 110 Austria

51. Nassfeld 110 Austria

52. Obergurgl/Hochgurgl 110 Austria

53. Grossglockner resort 110 Austria

54. Lech/Zürs 110 Austria

55. Kleine Scheidegg 110 Switzerland

Ski routes are not included in the table above. If these are included are the piste lengths: 4 Vallées 370 (including the ski route connected La Tzoumaz sector), Matterhorn ski paradise 350, Skiwelt 279, Silvretta arena 238, Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis 204, Hochfuegen/Hochzillertal 188, Laax 220, Sölden 148, Kitzbühel 160, Davos/Klosters 150 and Schladming 117.

For some of these are the "standard" lift pass comprising a bigger area. This list shows the largest (or in some cases several) piste or lift interconnected parts of each ski resort. For most of these are the piste lengths only given for several systems together. In those cases are the piste lengths given calculated from the total piste lengths making them good estimates rather than exact measures. This is true for Sella ronda, 4 Vallées, Matterhorn ski paradise, Avoriaz, Megève, Le Grand Massif, Val d'Allos, Morzine, Zillertal arena, Mayrhofen, Kitzbühel, Davos/Klosters, St. Anton, Schladming and Lech/Zürs.

There is also a number of resorts where the "standard" lift pass give you access to a piste length fitting into this list, but they are actually divided into 2 or more separate systems where each subsystem is too small to fit into the list. Examples of this is Chamonix, Cortina, Zell am See/Kaprun, Gasteinertal and Salzburger Sportwelt.

One more problem associated with making a list of the 50 largest ski resort is that it's very hard to come across piste length data for northamerican resorts. Whistler-Blackcomb does certainly hit the top 50 list and perhaps also Vail. I've tried to figure out the piste lenght for Whistler Blackcomb in several ways:

1. I've gone through the Blackcomb piste map, piste by piste, and compared the piste with the length of the lift beside it and recalculated for the whole resorts giving 160 km.

2. If you take the average of the ratios between the piste length and the number of lifts for the 18 largest resorts and multiply it with the number of lifts at Whistler-Blackcomb you get a piste length of 137 km.

4. The data for Whistler-Blackcomb (area, vertical, no of lifts and transport capacity) is almost identical to Espace San Bernardo with it's 150 km of piste.

Concluding from this Whistler-Blackcomb is estimated to 150 km and by just comparing the Whistler-Blackcomb area with the Vail area, Vail would then be 100 km of piste and not hitting the top 50-list.

An even harder question is the Japanese resorts. The largest linked resort is Mt Naeba which do have 47 lifts (quite a number of systems with fewer lifts are in the list) but the area is much smaller than for example Whistler-Blackcomb so I doubt that it will hit the list. I have not been able to find sufficient information (at least in non-Japanese) to make even a rough estimate of the piste length.

Of course a country comparison would be nice after seeing the list. It looks like this:

1. France 22,5

2. Austria 15,5

3. Switzerland 9,5

4. Italy 5,5

5. Andorra 1

6. Canada 1

Noteworthy is that Andorra beats all countries in the world except the "big four". The Grand Valira system actually extends from Pas de la Casa at the French border in the east to Encamp which is situated in the middle of the country!

If you have read this far, here comes a bonus with some additional resorts:

56. Damüls/Mellau/Faschina 109 Austria

57. Kronplatz 109 Italy

58. Saanenmöser/St. Stephan 105 Switzerland

59. Bad Kleinkirchheim 103 Austria

60. Domaine de Tourmalet 100 France

61. Saint Lary 100 France

62. Dévoluy 100 France

63. Orciéres 100 France

64. Les Orres 100 France

65. Obertauern 100 Austria

66. Villars/Gryon/Diablerets 100 Switzerland

67. St. Moritz 100 Switzerland

68. Saas-Fee 100 Switzerland

69. Courmayeur 100 Italy

70. Passo Tonale 100 Italy

71. Vail 100 USA

72. Aletsch Arena 99 Switzerland

73. Torgon 90 Switzerland & France

74. Chamrousse 90 France

75. Le Grand Bornand 90 France

76. Valberg/Beuil 90 France

77. Badgastein 90 Austria

78. Flachau 90 Austria

79. Dienten 90 Austria

80. Stubaier Gletscher 90 Austria

81. Adelboden 90 Switzerland

If I missed some resorts please improve or post me a message.

Answer 2

Here is a list of the 10 largest linked (piste or lift) ski resorts, their piste length in km, number of lifts, transport capacity per hour and country.

1. Les 3 Vallées 600 196 242.000 France

2. Paradiski 425 187 210.000 France

3. Via Lattea 400 78 110.000 Italy & France

4. Sella ronda 330 155 240.000 Italy, which is a part of Dolomiti Superski

5. Les Sybelles 310 71 80.000 France

6. 4 Vallées 300 64 65.000 Switzerland

7. Matterhorn ski paradise 300 58 99.500 Switzerland & Italy

8. Espace Killy 300 94 136.000 France

9. Avoriaz 270, 79, 100.000 France & Switzerland, which is part of Portes du Soleil

10. Skiwelt 263 91 138.000 Austria

Ski routes are not included in the table above. If these are included are the piste lengths: 4 Vallées 370 (incl the ski route connected La Tzoumaz sector), Matterhorn ski paradise 350 and Skiwelt 279.

The biggest unconnected ski area available on one ski pass is offered by the Tirol Snow Card giving access to more than 3000 km of piste in more than 70 ski resorts.

If you want more resorts look at "What are the 50 largest ski resorts?

Answer 3

#1. Aspen - Aspen, a famous Rocky Mountain town in Colorado, is a European-style ski village built in the 1960's and visited by famous celebrities. It is a spectacular world-class ski resort.

Other outdoor sports in this spectacular world-class ski resort include white water rafting on the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers, biking in the Rocky Mountains, jeep trails, horseback riding, paragliding and ballooning. Some of the best trout fishing in Colorado lies near Aspen.

#2. Heavenly Ski Resort - Located on Lake Tahoe, Heavenly Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in the US. The resort offers skiing on slopes in both California and Nevada, snowmobiling, sledding, tubing, and a ski school. Heavenly Ski Resort is accessible by a gondola in downtown Lake Tahoe.

#3. Deer Valley Resort - Deer Valley Resort, Park City, Utah, was the official site of the 2002 Olympic Slalom, Mogul and Aerial Events. Deer Valley Resort was also recognized by the readers of SKI magazine as the #1 resort in North America. In February of 2003 they will stage the 2003 Freestyle FIS World Championships utilizing the same runs on which Olympians competed in 2002.

Known as the ski resort that has revolutionized ski-area service, Deer Valley is nestled in Utah's picturesque Rocky Mountain Wasatch Range.

#4. Killington - Located in Vermont this is known as the largest ski & snowboard area in the East. Killington offers the most skiing and most variety of terrain served by the East's highest capacity lift system.

Seven interconnected mountains provide unparalleled diversity of skiing and the greatest vertical in New England. Snowboarders are challenged with the longest terrain park in the East.

High elevation vistas, mountain-to-mountain exploration on more than 87 miles of trails and the

charm of Vermont are just the beginning of a Killington vacation.

The region, including historic Woodstock and Manchester, offers cross-country skiing, sleigh rides, ice skating and a variety of shopping delights -- factory outlets, antique shops, artisan workshops, craft fairs and rustic country stores.

#5. Mount Snow - Located in Vermont, Mount Snow offers skiing for all abilities. Mount Snow is nestled in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont and for 2 years in a row, was the host of the ESPN 2000 & 2001 Winter X Games.

Located just four hours from New York City and 2 1/2 hours from Boston, Mount Snow features 135 trails, 26 lifts, 12 tree terrain areas, five terrain parks and two half-pipes. Covering 757 skiable acres, Mount Snow provides skiing for all abilities. Child care is offered for children 6 weeks to 6 years in a modern, slopeside facility licensed by the state. Learn-to-ski programs are offered starting at the age of 4, and a pre-ski program is available for 3-year-olds.

The fun is not just the skiing in the Mount Snow region. There are many mountain activities to suit everyone's needs. For example, ice skating, sledding, snowmobiling, shopping, bowling and movies just to name a few. If that's not enough, Mount Snow hosts a number of special events all year long.

#6. Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort - Royal Gorge offers an extensive network of trails over thousands of acres of snow-clad wilderness in the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains. Situated just a short drive from world famous Lake Tahoe and Reno, Royal Gorge is the largest cross country ski resort in North America and has been ranked "Number One" by Snow Country Magazine.

#7. Squaw Valley USA - Squaw Valley is one of the largest ski areas in U.S. The site of the VIII Olympic Winter Games in 1960, this world-class destination resort is nestled among six high Sierra peaks:

Squaw is serviced by one of the most extensive lift networks in the world. With 33 lifts and an uphill capacity of 49,000 skiers per hour, Squaw Valley has become one of the largest ski areas in the country. Because of its immense size, Squaw caters to skiers of all abilities.

Seventy percent of Squaw's terrain is geared for the beginner and intermediate skier with wide, open bowls and miles of meticulously groomed runs. For the more adventurous skier, vast areas have been left in their pristine state for a true wilderness experience and some of the best advanced skiing anywhere.

#8. Stowe Mountain Resort - Stowe Mountain Resort is located on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak at 4,393 feet above sea level. The resort offers a variety of terrain spread out over two distinct mountains. Spruce Peak offers intermediate and novice terrain, while Mt. Mansfield offers terrain for all ability levels.

Stowe has 47 trails with 25 percent for advanced skiers, 59 percent for intermediates and 16 percent for novices. Each trail averages nearly a mile in length, which is double the average trail length of any other resort in the East. Getting to the top of Stowe is fast and comfortable. The East's first detachable quad chair and the world's fastest gondola both offer top-to-bottom skiing. With high-speed lifts and exceptionally long trails, skiers are guaranteed more skiing time and less time standing in lift lines.

#9. Vail Colorado - A Colorado Rocky Mountain Ski Resort. Vail was born as a European-style ski village in the '60s. This town contributes handsomely to Colorado's colorful reputation. Vail, Colorado, boasts some of the best skiing in the world, but winter isn't the only season to visit Vail. Vail is a unique blend of Colorado history, culture, festivals, sports, restaurants and music, which makes this famous Colorado town a very special world-class resort. Famous celebrities flock to Vail to ski in the winter and to vacation in the summer.

#10. Winter Park - Winter Park, Colorado, located in the Rocky Mountains, is extremely popular and close to Denver. Winter Park has long boasted of a reputation as "Colorado's favorite ski area." It's understandable that lucky Winter Park locals who have the best skiing on earth at their doorstep appreciate a Colorado ski area with grandiose and varied terrain, constant upgrades to lifts and day lodge facilities, consistently good snow, exceptional children's and beginner facilities and moderate prices.

The Winter Park skiing ranges across three main peaks, Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Vazquez Ridge - topped by a vast snowfield called Parsenn Bowl. Behind Parsenn is Vasquez Cirque, 435 high-expert acres. Winter Park also is home to the world's finest program for teaching the disabled to ski.