Ski resorts accused of exaggerating their size
One of the first questions dedicated skiers ask about a resort is how large the ski area is, but this is becoming increasingly difficult to answer with any accuracy since many resorts in Europe have been accused of greatly exaggerating the amount of skiing they offer.
Some measure pistes several times if they connect to more than one other run, while others include off-piste area as well as those on the map. In some cases, resorts have been found to exaggerate the size of their ski areas by up to 200%.
Now, rather unhelpfully, some resorts have decided to state their ski areas in hectares or acres while others have stuck with measuring their size in skiable kilometres.
The latest to do so is Serre Chevalier in the French Alps, which claims its marked ski area covers 410 hectares and its total ski area covers 3,901 hectares, which means what exactly?
If you’re unsure how large a resort is, it’s probably best to look at the number of runs it offers (rather than total ski area) combined with the number of ski lifts. Look too at the number of black (difficult) versus green (easy) runs to get an idea of the variety of skiing on offer to see what type of skier it would suit.
Experienced skiers will often be happy with a smaller domain if it offers plenty of challenging (black) runs, or lots of accessible off-piste terrain.
The annual Where to Ski and Snowboard Guide provides detailed information on all major resorts around the world and is a good investment if you plan to focus on selling ski.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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