Summer skiing is amazing.
It can mean a week of this…
Summer skiing can also mean this…
Plus some of this…
Oh yes – and some of this, of course…
But not too much, we hope, of this…
In fact, there’s an eye-popping range of summer skiing experiences on offer around the world, from the exoticism of the Andes, to the rootsy, laid-back club fields and ski resorts of New Zealand – as well as the weird and wonderful mix of glaciers and vivid green meadows that’s a feature of summer in the Alps.
Here, to help you decide which to go for, is our guide to the best resorts for summer skiing, on both the top and the bottom half of our dear old planet.
Northern Hemisphere
1. Hintertux, Austria – The Steepest Lift-Serviced Alpine Glacier
The reason so many ski teams train at Hintertux in the off season is because this is where you’ll find the steepest lift-serviced glacier skiing in the Alps, and some of the surest snow.
Ten ski lifts top out at 3,250m, with Hintertux’s longest summer ski run 2km. The gate skiing takes place to the left of the drag lifts: to join in, sign up for a race-training camp to get involved. In spring and autumn, the rails and kickers of the Betterpark are a big draw, too. This year the park is expected to stay open till 2 June.
Hintertux’s village is also relatively lively in summer, with about 40% of its visitors in town from spring to autumn (versus 60% in winter).
At the very top of Hintertux you’ll also find a natural phenomenon; a glacier access point discovered only 15 or so years ago by one local skier. Now called Nature’s Ice Palace, there are natural ice tunnels, frozen waterfalls, a lake and sub-zero temps throughout summer, all found under the ski slopes and made safe for visitors to enter. Take a boat ride within the glacier, paddle board or even ice swim in the glacier cavern, after you’re done with skiing over the Tux glacier.
When: 365 days a year (though 2023 saw disruption to this claim). Bear in mind that in a hot summer the snow does get grey and thin in August. May-July and mid-September onwards are best for a trip.
Where to stay: at the relaxed and friendly Hintertuxerhof. But if you’re looking for a more balanced mix of summer activities and skiing target the resort of Mayrhofen, lower down the valley.
Further information: hintertuxergletscher.at
2. Les Deux Alpes, France – King of The Alpine Freestyle Scene
…and the Prettiest of The Glacier Resorts
For freestylers, the vast terrain park above Les Deux Alpes makes it an essential stop on the summer skiing circuit – whether they’re training for competitions, or trying to land their first jump. For non-park skiers, there are 10 or so runs on the Mont-de-Lans ski glacier, peaking at 3,600m with (in good years) up to 770m of vertical to ski – though half that is the reality in recent summers. It’s a great spot for learning the basics in a high-altitude, spectacular environment.
There are fringe benefits too: lower down the mountain, there’s a vibrant mountain biking scene, as well as gentler pursuits such as tennis, swimming, trampolining and e-biking. Les Deux Alpes is one of the Alps’ more lively villages in summer (as well as in winter, for which its buzzing atmosphere is well known), with many biking events on the calendar and various sports teams training groups in town. Check out all that’s on offer in summer in Les Deux Alpes, activity-wise, over on our sister site Fall Line.
Summer 2024 will see events including skateboarding contest King of the Plaza (20-21 July), Girls Shredding Days (20-21 July), trail running event Défi de la Muzelle (22-26 July), the mountain biking European Downhill Cup, plus the Vintage Motor Show (20-21 July) and the village Fête des Foins (3-4 August).
When: 29 April— 7 July. As with all glacier ski resorts, it’s best to go earlier when the snow’s still in decent shape, but Les Deux Alpes has shortened its season to finish early July while the snow conditions remain in good nick.
Where to stay: at the three-star Souleil’Or, which has its own small pool. Tour operator Peak Retreats also features Les Deux Alpes in its programme of Alpine summer holidays.
Further information: les2alpes.com
3. Tignes, France – Great British Tuition
…and an Adrenalin-Tinged Atmosphere
A much reduced summer ski season in recent years, but one of France’s most trusted for glacier skiing in summer months. It’s also among the most reasonably priced, coming in at €48 for a day’s ticket (though of course skiing stops around lunch time, so it’s not really a full day).
None of the glacier skiing areas are very big – and you’ll get bored in half a day if you all do is scoot about on your own. So, to make the trip worthwhile, sign up for some tuition. Snoworks offers one of the most comprehensive programmes of summer training camps aimed at British skiers, and Tignes’ La Grand Motte glacier is its base.
Okay, so Tignes lacks a little of the bucolic charm of Les Deux Alpes, but there’s 20km of terrain up to 3,456m altitude, the tuition is first-rate, and there’s no shortage of ways to test yourself when you get down off the snow (though you’ll have to hire your own helicopter if you want to try the kind of high-diving shown in the picture above). The My Tignes card gives you free access to a range of activities as well as discounts on the rest. Pedestrians can take the glacier lift to the top of La Grand Motte (and back down) for €25 (€15 for children).
Mountain Shaker is one of Tignes’ best summer events (20—28 July) with skateboarding, rollerblading, scooter riding on an outdoor XL skatepark, mountain biking, trial, pump track, shows, concerts and exhibitors. Check out the action from last year:
When: 22 June — 21 July, 2024
Where to stay: at Hotel Lo Terrachu in Tignes-le-Lac. It’s not too convenient for the lifts, but this where the Snoworks video analysis takes place. It’s also handy for Tignes’ superb indoor pool and weights room. Peak Retreats and Erna Low feature Tignes in their programme of Alpine summer holidays.
Further information: tignes.net
4. Cervinia, Italy – Wozzify Your Ski Technique
Warren Smith is something of a ski guru amongst the Brits: his teaching style is a tad unorthodox, but if you stick with it, it will do wonders for your technique. His five-day summer skiing camps run through July and August this summer in Cervinia and anyone who feels his or her skiing is stuck in a rut should consider following him there.
Nearly all of the of skiing, by the way, is on the Theodul glacier on the Swiss side of the border, above Zermatt. As well as skiing on 23km of piste, there’s SnowXperience – a beginners’ park for first-time skiers or an out-of-season snow tube descent. Tickets here are fair bit pricer than elsewhere for summer skiing (nearly double at 97 CHF) but you can save on staying down in the Italian village of Cervinia, rather than the swish Swiss resort of Zermatt. Choose your home base – Italy or Switzerland – and nip over the border and down into the other village for lunch, with the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing now complete, and make it back over the other side for tea. The one-way journey, from village via Klein Matterhorn and Testa Grigia to village, takes an hour, with zero effort and maximum views.
When: 15 July — October end
Where to stay: at the three-star Mon Reve, which is where video analysis of the day’s skiing takes place on Monday and Thursday evenings.
Further information: cervinia.it
5. Saas Fee, Switzerland – Big Mountains and Ice Grottos
The Allalin glacier offers more challenging summer skiing, its runs rated mostly reds, summiting at 3,500m. Join in Saas Fee’s ski school training or an English-lead skills academy course here to practice particular skills for a bigger winter trip. Up top, there’s a revolving restaurant, several ‘four-thousanders’ to ogle, plus an enormous ice cave-grotto where you can wander through the glacier. Further down the mountain, afternoon attractions might be the Saas Fee gorge, complete with an adventurous via ferrata, a ropes park, and plenty of non-ski mountaineering excursions to sign onto.
Like its close neighbour Zermatt, Saas Fee is a car-free village with cobbled streets, and is pretty, if quiet, in summer. Day lift passes (early summer this means 7am—12pm) cost from 79CHF (48CHF for kids) so if you want most bang for your buck, head there during October where autumn ski sessions extend to 3pm.
When: 8 July – 31 October
Further information: saas-fee.ch
6. Kaprun, Austria – Mellow Times Aplenty
Mellow, low-angled slopes, open-bowl skiing and a brilliant snow park is what the Kitzsteinhorn glacier – or ‘the Kitz’ – is known for.
This summer glacier area has turned into more of a late-spring ski zone, with skiing and snowboarding through May (often June) on a decent snow base of 2 metres average (that’s plenty of snow for a fun summer ski or park session).
Skiing aside, you can take a (free) guided hike over the glacier at the top of Gipfelbahn (3,029m), before heading down to the lake at Zell am See, Kaprun’s neighbouring resort, (750m) for ‘beach’ sessions and summer scenes.
When: 26 May — 2 June 2024
Further information: zellamsee-kaprun.com
7. Bormi0, Italy – Italian Winter in the Height of Summer
One of just two Italian summer ski spots, Bormio’s summer ski area, Stelvio, is accessed from the Passo Stelvio — a 40-minute drive from Bormio resort — up a hair-pin bend road (you’ll need a head for heights), close to the Swiss border. Stelvio glacier is unique in that it’s a summer-only ski destination; In winter, the glacier is shut, with snow drifts cutting off any sort of road access. There’s no village at the road-side Stelvio base area, but a hotel or two with traditional restaurants.
Six ski lifts whisk skiers and snowboarders around 20km of piste reaching up to 3,450m, with 700m of altitude difference, on Monte Cristallo in the Ortles-Cevedale range. Ski school caters for learners, while a cross-country track means you can have a taste of winter in the height of summer. The Stelvio is great for novices, park rats and authentic Italian mountain grub.
When? 1 June – 3 November
Further information: bormio.eu
8. Val d’Isère, France – Welcome to the Pisaillas
Summer skiing is something of a novelty, one that’s been enjoyed on European glaciers since the 60s. And there’s none as novelty as skiing on the Pisaillas glacier, open for just a few weeks every summer (unless heat calls off the sport). The ski area on the Pisaillas is not accessed from Val d’Isère itself, but from Route 202 and the Col de l’Iseran about 25 minutes away. Three slopes are open to all skiers (there are four more reserved for racers in training) for perhaps the most reasonable daily lift pass price of €34.
When? 8 June — 5 July
Further information: valdisere.com
Don’t forget about summer skiing in Scandinavia…
View this post on Instagram
9. Fonna Glacier Resort, Norway – A Real Scandi Adventure
Summer skiing in Norway might appeal for its lower altitude (1,200m) and more sociable ski hours – lifts run from 10am—2pm – with just 300 tickets sold each day to keep the glacier well maintained and in top condition.
And it also costs less than you might think (most assume Norway out prices them) with lift tickets for adults 405NOK (£30) and 330NOK for kids, and ski rental from 200NOK (£15) per day.
Jondal is the nearest town to the Fonna summer skiing area, 19km away. The glacier road to Fonna is a great drive, often between huge walls of snow, but with access and parking costing 400NOK (£30), to cover the cost of road maintenance and ploughing. A two-and-a-half-hour drive from Bergen city, or by car ferry from Tørvikbygd, adds to the adventure of skiing in Norway, though it’s possible to take a bus as a day-trip from either Bergen or Jondal.
Once skiing on the glacier, the views over Hardangerfjord and the North Sea offer something a little different to other European glacier resorts. There’s good family skiing, freestyle, cross-country tracks (of course… it’s Norway!) and snow shoeing to be done here.
When? 1 May — mid-November
Stay: Jondal
Further information: visitfonna.no
Southern Hemisphere
1. The Wanaka Resorts, New Zealand – Snowfall, Terrain and Half-Pipes
As you’ll see from our guide to the best places to ski in New Zealand, there’s a lot of skiing in NZ – and a lot of rootsy, edge-of-the-world atmosphere, too. But you don’t want to limit yourself to club fields and nutcracker rope tows. Balance your backwoods experience with some modern infrastructure by targeting the Wanaka ski resorts of Treble Cone and Cardrona.
The former is the biggest South Island ski area (550 hectares) with some of the longest vertical and one of the highest snowfall averages (5.5m a season). The latter has 345 hectares of trails and is home to lots of easy-going trails – and a vast, Olympic-sized half-pipe. Use both to slake your skiing thirst before setting off on a proper road trip.
When: Cardrona’s season should run from 15 June to 13 October (tentative), and Treble Cone’s from 29 June to 29 September.
Where to stay: at the swanky Oakridge Resort in Wanaka. For flights-and-accommodation packages try Air New Zealand Holidays
Further information: cardrona.com and treblecone.com
2. Portillo, Chile – Spectacular Off-Piste Skiing…
…and Only One Hotel
It’s not so much a ski resort as a vast, private ski club. Portillo lies 160km north-east of Santiago on the border with Argentina and is famous for big off-piste descents, visiting Americans (including the US ski team) – and its policy of only selling only 450 lift tickets a day. That’s how many guest beds there are in the resort (in one hotel and two cheaper lodges): so if you want to be sure of skiing it, you need to book a week-long accommodation-food-and-lift-pass package.
Lift queues are unheard of – and the scenery is magnificent. Snowfall averages about 6m a season, but in common with all Andean resorts, mighty Pacific storms alternate with long dry spells – and the resort opens late and closes early when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
When: 22 June to 28 September
Where to stay: at the big yellow Hotel Portillo
Further information: skiportillo.com
3. Valle Nevado, Chile – The Three Valleys of The Andes
Valle Nevado is just 46km from Santiago, and is linked to two other ski resorts, El Colorado and La Parva. A total of 2,300 hectares (about 5,700 acres) of lift-serviced terrain is on offer in this Chilean version of the Three Valleys – a modest ski area by Alpine standards, but big for the southern hemisphere.
Snowfall averages 7m a season, and the lifts rise to a lofty 3,670m, so the area keeps its cover well. But don’t expect guaranteed powder – the maritime climate is a bit all-or-nothing when it comes to the white stuff.
As far as the skiing goes, there’s something for everyone here. Intermediates will like the gentle pitch of most of the pistes, freestylers have one of the best terrain parks in South America to play on, and experts who want to try the cheap heli-skiing (by Alpine and North American standards), can sample 40,000 hectares of unchartered terrain nearby.
When: 21 June to 6 October
Where to stay: at the ski-in, ski-out Valle Nevado Hotel
Further information: vallenevado.com
4. Las Leñas, Argentina – The Best Lift-Serviced Off-Piste in the Andes
If there is enough stable snow (and the key Marte chairlift is running), then strong skiers and riders are in for the finest off-piste feast in the Southern Hemisphere. If there isn’t then – well, they may wonder whether the 90-minute flight from Buenos Aires to Malargue, followed by a one-hour bus transfer, was worth the effort.
When: 22 June to 6 October
Where to stay: the Virgo Hotel is the class act in town.
Further information: laslenas.com
5. Catedral Alta Patagonia (Bariloche), Argentina – For Plenty of Snow…
San Carlos de Bariloche, in Patagonia, is home to Cerro Catedral – Argentina’s oldest and most famous ski resort, better known as Bariloche. It is a large, attractive resort not far from the Chilean border, with 40 modern lifts, 120km of piste, a vertical drop of 1,100m and the largest snowmaking system in South America. The area provides intermediate slopes with high-speed cruising and abundant off-piste.
When: 9 June to 12 October
Where to stay: Hotels include the four-star Hotel Nevada, and Hotel Edelweiss. Audley Travel offer tailor-made tours to Bariloche.
Further information: Cerro Catedral (Bariloche)
6. Mount Cook, New Zealand – Heli-Skiing and Ski-Touring Heaven
Stunning views come as standard in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park – where there are no ski-lifts, and access is by helicopter or fixed-wing plane. A lot of ski-touring goes on here too: but this is not an experts-only area. Wilderness Heliskiing operates within the park boundaries.
Also try a Ski the Tasman package aimed at athletic intermediates, which (weather permitting) gives them a chance to make turns on NZ’s longest glacier.
When: the heli season runs from 1 July to 30 September
Where to stay: if you’re heli-skiing, you’ve probably got a healthy holiday budget: in which case the upmarket Hermitage Hotel is the perfect base.
Further information: Alpine Guides (Aoraki) Ltd
For more off-season inspiration, check out our summer in the mountains section. We also have cracking guides to where to ski in New Zealand, the best mountain biking resorts, cycling to get fit for skiing, and high altitude golf.
And whatever you do, make sure you maintain your ski fitness this summer!
any budget resorts for ski Virgins in August,hotels with evening entertainment etc?.
Austria is the budget choice in summer – so try Hintertux which is open all year round. Click this link to go their summer skiing page. I can’t really say how lively the apres-ski will be – it depends whether any ski teams are out there training at the time. Here’s the choice of hotels – click on this link.