The best small ski resorts to visit this winter

Given the variability of last year’s snowfall, you would think heading to larger, more accessible resorts would give you the best guarantee for a full week of skiing. But “smaller, lesser-known resorts can often have bigger snowfalls, more vertical, fewer skiers and better off-piste”, said Alf Alderson in The Telegraph. Cheaper lift passes, shorter queues and fewer interruptions on the slopes also sweeten the deal, without compromising on skiing quality. Here are some of the best spots.

Heiligenblut, Austria

This tiny village beneath Austria’s highest mountain is “blissfully quiet”, said Sean Newsom in The Sunday Times. Each winter, the main road to Heiligenblut is “closed by snow”, and “few bother” to “wriggle in round on the back roads to ski its modest but spectacular area of intermediate-friendly slopes”. Heiligenblut is home to “mind-blowing” views of the 3,798-metre Grossglockner and a “non-existent (in a good way)” après-ski culture, allowing for proper relaxation. Anyone with an interest in ski touring or off-piste skiing will be “thrilled by its back-country potential”.

Tetnuldi, Georgia

The Georgian resort has “deserted slopes, deep powder and truly wild alpine panoramas”, said Alderson in The Telegraph. As you approach, you can see the “eponymous 4,858-metre Mount Tetnuldi, one of four Georgian peaks higher than Mont Blanc, glowering down at the pistes”. The resort has “consistently good snow and almost 1,000 metres of vertical” to explore. The long journey there is definitely “worthwhile”. “The 25km of marked pistes are a good warm-up for the world-class back-country skiing that’s the area’s big attraction.” At its foot, there is the town of Mestia, which is “famed for its stone Svan towers that date back to the 12th century”.

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Brundage Mountain Resort, Idaho, US

This North American resort has an “uncrowded and unpretentious” vibe, said Ted Thornhill in The Independent. Just above the small mountain town of McCall, the resort offers a “classy experience”, welcoming both “strong skiers craving room to roam, and families who enjoy the low-stress atmosphere”. The après-ski is “friendly and relaxed”, once you’ve finished for the day on the area’s “famously light, dry snow”. “The average annual snowfall is around 320 inches and there are plenty of runs on which to relish it.”

Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, France

“Sit in a lift queue at Val d’Isère or Tignes for long enough and someone will eventually mention Sainte-Foy, the resort a few minutes down the valley that regulars would rather keep to themselves,” said In the Snow. The whole area is “refreshingly uncrowded”, and though it only has 26 marked trails, its lift-accessed off-piste and powder terrain is “some of the best in the Tarentaise”. The low-key resort is in a prime location, with Val d’Isère, Tignes and Les Arcs “all easy day trips if you fancy a change of scenery”.

Vogel, Slovenia

“Vogel is one of the most spectacular ski resorts in Slovenia, if not in the whole of Europe,” said Tristan Kennedy in Snow. Most of the pistes are suitable for easy and intermediate skiers and expand on to “plenty of open, rolling terrain”. Vogel sits above Lake Bohinj – “just around the corner from that Instagram favourite, Lake Bled” – and has views over the Julian Alps and Triglav National Park. The resort’s “biggest selling point” is that it relies “entirely on natural snow, with no artificial snowmaking”.