Here's a list of resorts that you might find helpful.

Resorts: With a Skiing Quality / Snow rating of 7/10 or better.  Green means I've been there, and bold is I've stayed there :-)
Name Beginners Intermediates Advanced Ski Q's Snow Après Ski Transfer Hrs Prices Spy Comments
Austria (nearest Airport Innsbruck)
Hintertux poor good fair 9 9 2 1.5 med Great high level skiing but disappointing après-ski.
Ischgl fair good good 9 7 5 1.75 high Resort very bust and too many T-bars
Lech good v.good good 9 7 5 2 high Wide-open Pistes but Après-ski too expensive
St Anton poor good v.good 9 8 9 1.5 high Great Skiing. Superb Nightlife.
Solden poor good good 8 8 7 1.5 med Fantastic Off Pistes skiing.
Soll good good fair 8 7 6 1 med Excellent variety of skiing for intermediates.
France (nearest Airport: L=Lyon, G=Geneva)
Alpe d'Huez good good good 7 8 5 1L med Avoid the mother of all drag lifts in Petit Prince.
Chamonix poor good good 8 7 8 1G high Disappointing for a high-mileage freak.
Courcheval good good good 10 8 9 2.5L high Stylish but expensive.
Flaine good v.good good 7 8 5 2G med As much fun as being trapped in a car park.
La Plagne fair good fair 7 7 3 3L med They should demolish the lot and rebuild.
Les Arcs good good good 8 8 5 2.5L med Benidorm with snow.
Les Deux Alps good v.good good 7 7 5 2.5L med "Excellent Skiing, lively metropolitan town."
Les Menuires fair good good 10 8 4 3LG med Great links with 3 valleys without the cost
Meribel fair good good 9 7 6 3L med Skiing excellent, well-prepared pistes, good signposting, improved lift system.
Morzine good good good 8 8 6 1.5G med Charming traditional Alpine town.
Serre Chevalier good v.good fair 7 7 4 2T med Intermediate's paradise, good for beginners and some untouched off piste for the experts.
Tignes fair good good 9 10 5 3L high "Infinite variety, glorious snow, lively pubs."
Val d'Isere fair good good 9 9 9 3L high "Pistes beautifully looked after, wicked nightlife."
Val Thorens fair good good 10 10 6 3.5L high Skier friendly but lacks alpine charm
Valmorel fair v.good fair 8 8 7 3G med "Although purpose built, it has village atmosphere."
Italy (nearest Airport: T=Turin,Vn=Venice,Vr=Verona)
Cervinia good v.good poor 8 8 5 2T lw-md Beautiful location in the shadow of Matterhorn.
Cortina d'Amp poor good good 7 7 9 3Vn med With this amount of skiing I would never be bored.
Courmayeur fair good good 7 7 8 1.5Vr lw-md Too many red and too few blues. Not a big place.
Sauze d'Oulx fair good good 7 7 8 1.75T lw-md Extensive and challenging skiing. A non-stop party.
Selva fair v.good good 9 7 6 3Vr med Vast skiing area - an intermediates dream.
Switzerland (nearest Airport: Z=Zurich, G=Geneva)
Davos good good good 8 7 6 2.5Z high My wallet hurts.
St. Moritz fair good good 8 8 9 4Z high Come and be seen with the jet set.
Saas Fee good good good 7 10 6 3.5G high Plenty of friendly bars and eating places
Verbier poor good v.good 9 8 9 2G high "Crowds bad, piste maintenance unimpressive."
Zermatt fair good good 8 8 9 4G high "Good atmosphere, Swiss trying harder to please."
Canada (nearest Airport: C=Calgary, V=Vancouver)
Banff fair v.good good 8 8 7 1.5C low The best powder I have ever skiied.
Lake Louise fair v.good good 8 8 4 2C low "Runs for all grades, no bad points"
Whistler fair v.good v.good 10 6 6 2V low A revelation in prices and courtesy after Europe.
USA (nearest Airport: A=Aspen,E=Eagle, D=Denver,S=Salt Lake City,R=Reno,B=Boston,SF=San Francisco,J=Jackson,L=LA)
Aspen fair good v.good 7 8 9 0.25A 1.5E 4D md-h Beautiful and friendly.
Breckenridge good good good 8 8 8 2D md-h Like a winter wonderland. How will I cope with Europe.
Heavenly fair good good 8 7 9 3SF 1.25R md-h If you don't gamble there's nothing to do at night.
Jackson Hole fair good v.good 8 7 6 0.25J md-h We had the mountain to ourselves.
Keystone v.good good good 7 8 5 2D md-h Fabulous snow and fantastic organization.
Killington v.good good fair 7 9 5 2.5B md-h "Well organized, friendly and good for children."
Mammoth fair good v.good 7 7 5 3R 5L md-h No queues for lifts. Everyone very friendly.
Snowbird fair good fair 8 8 4 1S md-h Purpose built village reminded me of France.
Snowmass good good good 8 8 4 2E 4D md-h Long and wide cruising runs.
Steamboat good good good 8 7 4 1.5E 4D md-h Empty runs and challenging moguls.
Squaw Valley poor good good 7 7 5 0.75R md-h "Vast, empty and well groomed pistes."
Vail good good good 9 8 8 0.5E 2.25D md-h Lacking in Alpine charm but brilliant skiing.

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© David Hodgkinson 2026