Lift tickets are pricy, and lift queues can be lengthy.
For those who love the mountains, but fancy trying something a little different, here’s our go-to guide to get your adrenaline fix and enjoy the snow in a new way.
Check out these European resorts that offer more than just skiing and snowboarding.
The mecca for outdoorsy climbing folk.
Not only does Chamonix offer superb ski slopes, but it also has four indoor climbing walls.
Best of all, when spring arrives and the snow melts, Chamonix is home to some astounding outdoor rock climbing, as well as ice climbing on the Mer de Glace glacier.
Big biking fan? Well, Gstaad is your spot. The swiss resort now offers ‘fat bikes’ (think of a 4×4 of cycling) with extra-wide tyres that can tackle snowy terrain.
These ‘fatties’ are for hire, and crucially, Gstaad has the trails on which to ride them.
It’s a little like regular mountain biking, but best of all, one can access the astounding winter landscapes on the trail – a luxury normally constricted to the summer months.
Although the Col du Lautaret in France hosts the annual Serre Chevalier snow kite festival each year, La Rosière is a quieter option for beginners looking to learn.
Take a class in the Col du Petit St. Bernard with views of the Mont Blanc.
After, refuel with pizza in Italy, just a drag lift away. Yes, please.
Sick of queuing for lifts and busy pistes?
The Julian Alps is the unsung hero of the Alpine mountain range, offering remote and remarkable ski touring/splitboarding opportunities.
Try a multi-day traverse following a hut-to-hut route across the Triglav National Park.
*If heading into the backcountry, it’s imperative to take a course in avalanche awareness and enlist the skills of a local guide.
Hone your ice climbing skills at 3,303 metres above sea level on possibly the highest ice climbing wall in the world.
Head up to the Corvatsch summit station, and beside it lies a 50 metre high frozen liquid flow of water wall.
Beginners and proficient climbers will find a variety of pitches, of different levels of difficulty.
Plunge into this pool with panoramic views of the mountains.
Perfect for those who love a dollop of mountain views through their goggles, and should be enough to keep any mermaid happy for the snow season.
Artist Rendering Of The (Potential) Indoor Surf Wave
Superb news for our SurfSistas as Tignes is looking to build an indoor ski slope – with a surf pool that can produce waves of up to 9ft for surfers.
Yet, the proposal has been met with fairly stern opposition from critics. Hervé Billard of the Rhône-Alps Federation for the Protection of Nature, argues the plans will create “a kind of Disneyland theme park…a line has been crossed. It does not respect the mountain.”
If the plans do go ahead in 2018, it’ll make Tignes into the perfect spot for the surfer loath to leave the beach for the long snowy winter seasons.
“Winterfox”, a short movie with a unique perspective on Hokkaidos snowy living produced, filmed and edited by Lena Stoffel.
After missing the 2018 games due to injury, Kelly is back at the 2019 XGames, Aspen and makes history by winning three medals in the one event!
There was a time when we, as snowboarders, had to fight for our place on the mountain. Now we’re bringing that same spirit of activism to women’s rights.
Listen to the Eyes, the brand’s first women snowboarding team film featuring Vans global snow team riders Hana Beaman, Mary Rand and Leanne Pelosi.
Time to treat yourself to a late Christmas present and get out to the mountains.
