Top resorts for Snowboarding

4th January 2009

1. Tignes, France

Top resorts for Snowboarding

Tignes is properly amazing..With the longest season in Europe, the closest slopes to the sun, some of the best powder and, as part of the Espace Killy, 180 miles of pistes.

Tignes has more boarders here than anywhere else in Europe. It has the big motorway blue runs which are perfect for beginners, while the vast off-piste plays host to the Freeride World Tour every year.

With a snow park in linked  Val d'Isère and summer boarding at the Grande Motte glacier. The après-ski is very relaxed.

Simply put There's no better resort for snowboarding in the world.

2. Mayrhofen, Austria

Mayrhofen sits in the heart of the Austrian Alps in the Zillertal valley and has now become the home of Austrian snowboarding.

With high-quality freeride terrain, friendly laid-back atmosphere and one of the leading terrain parks in Europe (Vans Penken Park) make Mayrhofen a necessity for any avid snowboarder.

Mayrhofen hosts world-class events: the Aesthetiker Jam is a five-star event, and Snowbombing weekend held year is legend. Nearby Kaltenbach is great for untracked powder; and the resort's proximity to the Hintertux Glacier allows for year-round riding.

3. Whistler, Canada

Whistler is home to more pro snowboarders than anywhere else on the planet.

Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are simply a boarder's dream: trees, chutes, bowls, parks and perfect pistes.  Backcountry riding – accessed by snowmobile is really popular and totally amazing.

4. Verbier, Switzerland

Verbier has some of the best freeride and backcountry terrain in the world. The finals of the Freeride World Tour take place annually on the Bec des Rosses, a large and dangerous no-fall zone.

Mont Gelé is a unique mountain experience - a single cable-car takes you to more than 11,000ft with a choice of descents down an unpisted mountain. Freestylers have the use of the 1936 Neipark, which has a good mixture of kickers, boxes and rails.

5. Snowpark, New Zealand

Located between Queenstown and Wanaka in South Island and built as a specific terrain park three years ago, Snowpark features more than 40 kickers, rails, boxes and a world-class superpipe, and has become a must-visit venue for snowboard freestylers with purpose built accomodation with all the mod cons.

6. Myoko, Japan

The Japanese love snowboarding culture. Myoko is just two hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, receives 40ft of snow each winter.

With floodlit terrain parks and the unique experience of riding through birch trees. The atmosphere is unmistakably Japanese: most households have mini JCB diggers to clear snow rather than shovels, while a dip in the local hot springs is the perfect way to unwind.

7. Hemsedal, Norway

Hemsedal is a picture-book snowboarding resort just over two hours' drive from Oslo. With 25 miles of runs and terrain to appeal to all standards, as well as accessible backcountry, a faultless snow park and even floodlit night riding until 9pm for most of the season.

Differing from other resorts in Norway; beginners are not forced to use drag lifts. Hemsedal has been attracting top freestyle riders for years and staged the Arctic Challenge in 2001.

8. Avoriaz, France

Built in the sixties to blend in with the surrounding rock formations, Avoriaz was one of the first resorts to have a snowboarder-only section, including a pipe, park-and-ride area and its own lift; you can also get a snowboarders' passport covering all aspects of the resort.

Avoriaz is part of Les Portes du Soleil: one of the largest linked areas in the world, including Les Croisets and Morzine, which are top boarding locations in their own right. It is also home to a great array of terrain parks while Burton, the snowboard manufacturer, has created one of its five "The Stash" parks here.

9. Revelstoke, Canada

Revelstoke Mountain Resort, located in British Columbia in the Selkirk Mountains, has opened for its second season and is still a work in progress – go now before the crowds start to go. With an average 40-60ft of snow and North America's greatest continuous vertical drop. Still developing,  cat-boarding – riding caterpillar-tracked snowcats - is a really popular way to access miles of untracked powder.

10. Livigno, Italy

Italy doesn't necessarily equal boarding heaven but Livigno is one of the best-kept boarding secrets. Situated in the northern Italian Alps, Livigno is a duty-free zone and remarkably inexpensive.

Freeriders can access some of the most beautiful powder fields half an hour's hike away. The one hitch is the long transfer – more than three hours from Milan. A big plus is the great affordable Italian food.

Enjoyed this article?

If you liked this article, feel free to re-tweet it to let others know.
Thanks, we appreciate it :)