In recent years, alpine skiing has become an increasingly popular sport. Since the early 1970s, mountainous scenes around the world have shifted from relatively poor regions where only farmers could earn a living to densely populated landscapes with many hotels, guesthouses, etc. In Europe, Switzerland and Austria are definitely the most popular ski nations. However, skiing is also famous in New Zealand and even Australia. It is fascinating that there are five huge ski resorts (Mt. Buller, Hotham, Falls Creek, Thredbo and Perisher Blue) in the middle of the so-called Snowy Mountains that lie in the south of a dry and dusty continent. North America boasts one of the best ski regions in the world.
Whistler became synonymous with powder skiing in Canada. However, in the United States, Colorado claims to be the best place for skiers and snowboarders. Resorts like Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge or Aspen are well known even to skiers and boarding school practitioners in Europe. America’s ski resorts are famous for the very dry, light snow that covers the Colorado Rocky Mountains over and over again. Vail’s Back Bowls offer a variety of expert terrain accessible via five modern chairlifts. The so-called Blue Sky Basin offers even more demanding Black Diamond slopes. But skiing in Colorado is more than the Back Bowls in Vail. The expression “Champagne Powder” was found in Steamboat, one of Colorado’s northernmost resorts.
Steamboat offers incredible tree skiing, especially near the top of Storm Peak Mountain (10,372 feet). While Steamboat is for expert skiers and powder fans, the most luxurious resort in Colorado is definitely Beaver Creek. The ski area is located near Interstate 70, which crosses the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Utah. Therefore, Beaver Creek is among the most accessible resorts in Colorado. The town of Beaver Creek is a very charming place. It mimics an old European-style mountain village, but offers guests luxury hotels and bars. Many tracks at Beaver Creek, which are designated intermediate (blue), are undemanding. Especially at Arrowhead Mountain, the slopes are more suited to beginning skiers than sporting intermediate skiers. However, there is also enough for experts to discover. The terrain between the “Centennial Express Lift” and the “Birds of Prey Express Lift” is quiet and demanding, and the Back Bowls in Vail are just a 10-minute drive away.