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Zermatt and Aspen top poll of resorts
Zermatt in Switzerland and Aspen in Colorado have been named as the top ski resorts in Europe and North America respectively by industry bible ‘Where to Ski and Snowboard 2006’.
For the first time in ten years, editors Chris Gill and Dave Watts have launched awards to highlight the excellence of some resorts and the shortcomings of others.
According to the writers, Zermatt has an unbeatable combination of scenery and extensive high slopes while Aspen’s four separate mountains offer something for every ability level, plus a restored 19th century gold mining town.
However, Megeve in France has the most outdated lift system, with only one in seven officially high-speed. According to the editors, this is an astonishingly low number for an upmarket resort. Ischgl in Austria has the most up-to-date lift system, with over 60 per cent operating at high speed.
The best new European resort development in Kitzbuhel, in Austria, which last year linked its two main ski areas with a new mountain-top gondola, which means you no longer have to ski down to the valley to get to the most snow-sure slopes above Pass Thurn or catch a bus back.
Whistler in Canada takes the award in North America after extending its terrain by 1,100 acres, which includes 700 acres of formerly out-of-bounds terrain in Flute Bowl.
The biggest let-down of 2005 was the Swiss resort of Murren. The cable car out of the resort was closed for repairs from January to March, meaning most of the runs, and all the best ones, were inaccessible.
Report by Jeremy Skidmore
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