One year ski trip - where would you ski?

I know that there have been some bull sightings right here on this forum...

Try to get toNew Zealand in August or Septemebr, won't get much skiing in during October. Most resorts close around 8 October, some stay only a couple of weeks after that if they have sufficient snow.

You would be probably best served skiing the resorts around Mont Blanc. This way you can hit Italy, France and Switzerland in one day (if you push it). Chamonix France, Courmayeur Italy and Verbier Switzerland. You can get a single pass for all three resorts.
If not my suggestions would be :
France - Tignes
Switzerland - Zermat (for the wow factor)
Andorra - Do not bother
Austria - Kitzbuhel (for the Hahnenkamm)
Northern Europe i have heard good stuff about Norway.
I learned to ski on the dry slops of Great Britain and i would not bother even for the novelty factor, if you caught and edge and injured yourself on that stuff you would be devastated.
Eastern Europe - Bulgaria (Bovorets) and Romania (?) used to be popular but I've heard horror stories about the health care if you were to need it.  

 there's supposedly some stellar skiing just 3 hours outside of Tehran...

but i would definitely hit Sweden, Norway, India, and Japan...and maybe Russia (i'd be more into hitting some oddball, out-of-the-way, less touristy spots, but that's just me). it's not supposed to be that great, but a trip to Iceland would be cool (but also incredibly $$$$$$).

BTW, the map you included on your original post is interesting. where did you get that? they didn't include Squaw Valley (having hosted the Olympics, doesn't that make it Internationally famous?) ditto for Lillehammer in Norway or Nagano in Japan or the likes of Kitzbuhel.

I talked to a cab driver about this mountain and apparently it does provide a very unique skiing experience.

to help my "playground of the gods" post


he also mentions in the movie that the japanese see the trees as sacred, or ominous, either way they respect the forrests too much to go in them.  that saves all the powder for you my friend.

I went to summer school at the university of Innsbruck in Austria and while the only skiing I did whilei was there was on the glacier, we hiked the mountain where they skied they Olympic downhill and it has always been a dream to go back to ski it. Since you are already planning my dream vacation, stop in Innsbruck for me, ok?

People have already said some of these, but I want to add my .02. If I had my pick of places, these would definitely be on the list

Ravelstoke, BC.
Silverton CO
Chamonix France
Tomamu Japan.

The book "Skiing Around thew World" should serve you well as a base reference.
There are some interesting new venues popping up all around the world like this one in Macedonia: Eskimo-Freeride 
Tell ya what, if you spring for my ticket and all expenses to go with you, I'll personally plan and locate enough gems and secret stashes around the world to make you want to extend this adventure even longer...

Keep it Fresh....you should take it easy bro.  All the guy is doing is asking for some advice and said he would like to look into making this an Eco-Friendly trip.  No reason to lambaste the guy for trying to do something good!  He could have said he was going to do the whole tour in a Hummer or Abrams tank!  Of course, if you are flying around the world to ski you're going to produce some carbon emmisions, I think it's great that Matt is thinking of clean ways to make this trip happen.

Seems to me like you are more jealous of his trip then anything and just wanted to break his stones.

 You'll definitely want to contact all of the cat ski operators in the BC interior, especially the day-trip operations who could have standby seats available: Big Red Cats (near Red Mountain), Valhalla (near Whitewater), Fernie Wilderness Adventures (near Fernie), Revelstoke (near Revelstoke), K3 (between Silver Star and Revelstoke), and Retallack, which isn't usually a day-trip op, but they have road access, so sometime sell standby single day trips.  Let them know about your blog, and I'll bet you could get some cat skiing for what you'd pay for a lift ticket, if there's an empty seat.  While you're waiting for the standby's to come up, you ski at their nearby resorts.  It's all good, and mostly great.

Here are a few places I've sampled that you could look into:
Norway
Stranda - http://www.strandafjellet.no
Myrkdalen -http://vossfjellandsby.no
Hemsedal - http://www.hemsedal.com/
Trysil - http://www.hemsedal.com/

Sweden
Åre - haven't actually been but have friends that did.

Austria
Montafon - http://www.silvretta-montafon.at/
Had one of my best powder days ever here. Highly recommended.

Switzerland
Verbier

Japan
Myoko region- http://www.powder-recon.com.au/myoko-kogen
Fukishima region - http://www.powder-recon.com.au/mt-bandai-fukushima

We took a tour with this powder-recon group last year (most of the pictures on the website are from our trip). Could be an easy way to get two weeks in Japan....

Sounds like a wicked trip. Best of luck!

few dimes from me.
I'm planing a ski snowboard trip around Caspian sea.
Starting from so called the heart of the Eurasia- Kazakhstan capital Astana, going South to Tien Shan mounting with such resorts as Chimbulak and Akbulak, then moving South to Kirgizstan  with about ten resourts there and beautiful 6000 peaks (no luck to ride on them).
From Kirgiztan you go to Uzbekistan visiting beutiful jistoric places and ride Western Tien Shan.
then you'll need several days to pass throu Turkmenistan- no mountains there but Caspian sea is a thing to visit.
It's easy to get from turkmenistan to Iran(if u're not us citizen I guess) with half a dozen of ski resorts. from Iran via Azerbaydzhan you go to Armenia- there 's just 1 ski resort I know of. but still it's a good experiense.
Georgia- not a state in US but a good place to ski at with huge fields of powder and beaitiful view on second highest mountain at Cusassus.
Then u could cross the boarder and go to Russia to Elbrus region (wich is the highest mountain of Europe by the way). counditions are really tough the it's like Instbruk 70 years ago. with the biggest oportunities for Backcontry (as well as everywhere on this route).
may finish there and get some where from Moscow. estimated time for this my journey is about 3 month. but generally I can't say the skiing or snowriding is general idea of it. I'd say "intercultural avearness via the love of snow" is the idea.

siberian region is not covered at all, but skiing at -40C is an interesting experience. have some note on almost every siberian place to ski at.
you could significantly low down the costs by contacting sponsors a by having a good blog, but not sure that they be happy to pay ur bills for air tickes. and that's actually more matter of money than of well planing and  and beng prepared.
 have a look at www.steppebysteppe.com.au  met this guys in May (actually they have started the journey from my garage), this what I call "a trip of the life". and they say that actually praparing takes the same time that the trip takes.
hope u've understood my varian of english language.

alll writen abouve actaully means that if you need any help with russian translation or info on the places I've mentioned - do NOT hesitate to ask!
all the best
blogspot is a good place to start blog(I have the one there). or worldpress(but not all of it is for free)

just by looking at the World map in order to optimize the journey it'll take more seasons but you'll get the best from the resorts, not being stuck with snow absense.
I'd start from AK and move south. actually it would take one season to ride in  all over NORTH Americam continet.
then in april when the season closes move to Chile and Argentina(backpacking would be a perfect choice!). keep in mind that NZ is close Chile.

for the next season

Cover Europe. spain and scandinavia inclusive.ukraine in bulgaria may fit into it.
but if you wanna DISCOVER- do not go there, all is alredy discovered before you.

In my around Caspian journey I'm preparing 4wd mini bus Mitsubishi Delica (comfortably sits 5-6 with all  the gear).
 this gives additional freedom on "stay more or go now iff place sucks".
 

You probably want to start your trip at the birth place on modern alpine skiing.
St Anton Arlberg  or Lech am Arlberg. 

can't stop myself

since ur worried of being eco- visiting tien shan will draw attention do it's glaciers . they feed all the reviers in region and give life and work for about 70 mln people (excluding the ones in China who still share the water coming from Tien Shan). Look at the Aral sea now and 20 years ago. guess how it is tied with the glacier area dicrees?

air planes aren't actually very eco...

if some porsh magazine asks you for doing this- go to the porsh and expensive areas, and enjoy watching your photos on the front page.

if you are really worried on what's haphening - can't name a better mass media partner for you than Discovery chanel.

If you do Antarctica it should be on a cruise to the Antarctic peninsula. 

http://www.somegood.ca/Site/Blog/Entrie ... video.html
Probably less than 10K vs. the huge expense of the South Pole.  Early November timing is good in terms of not missing out somewhere else. 

In terms of conditions North America has the most reliable snow and should get the early and late northern seasons.  Best month for the Alps is March.  The problem with the exotic northern locations (Middle East, Gulmarg, etc.) is that in general they would need to visited in prime February time for the best shot at reasonable snow and you'll have to weigh that against the opportunity cost of giving that time up at the big places in North America or Europe.

So I'd say:
Dec-early January: probably Pac NW or western Canada, but you should be flexible and go whereever the best early snow is in North America.
Mid-January: Japan, the Siberia-Niseko "lake effect" is concentrated then, 158 inches average snowfall in Niseko in January. 
Late January through mid-February: First come back to North America and follow the snow. BC cat skiing idea proposed in another post would be good then. Hit a couple of the exotic places like Gulmarg in mid February if that's important to you.
Late February through March: The Alps.  It's compact, choose specific resorts once you get there based on conditions and your preferences. Probably worth hanging on into early April if conditions are good with so many places. By April in the Alps you want to be at places with lots of terrain over 2,500 meters.
April-early June: First half of April lots of choices in North America, later the prime spring places: Mammoth, Bachelor, Snowbird, A-Basin, Whistler, Sunshine. 
June: North America will eventually be down to Timberline and maybe Mammoth.  Monitor the Southern Hemisphere. Sometimes the high Andes will get dumped in June. If so head down there early.
July: The southern Andes places mentioned in one of the other posts.  The famous places are busy/expensive during South American holidays.  Monitor NZ and head there early if they're having a good year.
Early-to-mid-August: South Island New Zealand, maybe a few days in Australia.  Snow is less reliable than SA, so go to Oz/NZ during the peak month.   
Late August to early October. Back to South America.  Portillo and Las Lenas have great spring corn.
Mid-October: North Island New Zealand is the only lift service left in Southern Hemisphere
November: Antarctic cruise. When you get back see if the northern season has started fast anywhere.

I also agree that Skiing Around the World book is a great resource, especially for the exotic places.
Edited by Tony Crocker - 11/17/09 at 11:35pm

Hey Yeti

My experiences have been on three continents. Of course here in Canada more so than others.

In Canada my favorites are Lake Louise in Alberta and Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. In my opinion, those are the ones to hit here in Canada.

In South America, Termas de Chillan in Chile is huge! While Lake Louise is 4200 acres, Chillan is 20,000 acres of terrain. Late July and early August is great, and I'd recommend a guide at the resort to get the most out of the back country - it is endless. You need to know some Spanish or have a guide that does. Cheap wine, great food, nice people. Direct flights from Toronto to Santiago Chile make it so easy to get there, by-passing the need to stop in the US.

In New Zealand, Treble Cone has some really incredible terrain choices. Early August usually is best. Very friendly - people who say Canadians are friendly have obviously not been to New Zealand. Again, great food, incredible scenery. Queenstown is a must for adventure seekers - bungee jumping, kayaking, jet boats, para sailing, golfing (even in winter), and so much more.

Check out www.casatours.com for the best trips in Chile. They set me up when I was down there.

Hope this helps!

Isn't British Columbia still in Canada ?

JF

What's your point?  Obviously his favorite places just don't happen to be in BC.

Hey Guys, Gals and Bears!

I have not been checking the posts that have been put up until today and I apologize for the lack of response. All of your comments are appreciated and I have started to tally the list and will make some changes as the season progresses. Still making it through some MSP and TGR spots for locations - especially in Japan, Russia, Afghanistan etc etc.

As for the green aspect. I agree with the idea that it will be virtually impossible to offset everything and that I will be making an impact. That being said I do support guroo207 and the comments made about appreciating everything more after the trip was completed. Def. some more thought to be given on the cause of choice.

The point I am trying to convey is that a trip is only as good as the people you share it with. Ask anyone who has traveled through Asia or South America or ANYWHERE and the trip is all about the awesome people you meet. Why not try to maximize this now. Yes it will happen naturally but what if you could give more back to the people who love your sport. Even if I just was handing out Epic Ski stickers or badges - just a purpose bigger than my own want.x

I was in the Tremblant 24 hour race a few years back now and our team name was The Flying Yeti's. Before we left we managed to score one of the Spyder Yeti suits for the race. I wore it during the run through the village on our first lap and to slow me down in the middle of the night when we could barely even stand from exhaustion. The point is, to respond to prickly's comments, I could wear this suit throughout my trip and have everyone find me...

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

More to come.


FY~

You are right.  I just think FlyingYeti would be missing out if he skipped BC.  I have had some great skiing there.
JF

would a round-the-world ski trip be complete without a stop at whistler?  It would be on the top of my list.  I don't even know of any other places.  After all of the commercials I've seen of people skiing, I don't think I would skip Alaska either.