Customer Reviews

Where To Ski and Snowboard Worldwide: The Reuters Guide

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Trust me on this one folks. If you have gotten this far, pulled up this ski guide and are reading this review, just save your time and order the book immediately. While on sabbatical from a corporate job last winter I skied in Europe at 28 resorts over 4 months and used this guide exclusively. It was simply invaluable for the complex decision making required when laying out a ski trip especially if you have flexibility in choosing resorts. The layout and design of the book is first rate and gives 1 to 5 star ratings by resort for snow, size, terrain (expert, intermediate, beginner), food, liftlines, scenery, resort charm and off slope activities. The uncannily accurate judgement of the editors on these many points really clinches the value of this book. (Why are you still reading?) The book is about 70% Europe, 20% USA, and 10% rest of the world. There is an enlightening write-up on Europe vs. US ski experience differences. There is a synopsis of the skiing peculiarities of each country. There are useful high level road maps showing the geographical location of each resort. In the front section of the book there is an excellent matrix synthesis of the top 100 or so resorts for a high level view of where you might want to go. There are just enough small but clear trail maps to be useful but not cluttered. There are some accomodation listings with punchy accurate quotes from recent visitors. Because of the high efficient layout and design, all this info is easily accessible and clear.

The book is missing pricing info which is a bit of a gap but everything else is done so well its hardly a complaint. There are some real bargains to be had, especially in Italy and Austria, and less so in Switzerland and France. ... The pricing gap can be resolved by calling the local tourism boards for the resort you are interested in or accessing the local websites. Most of the tourism contact info is in the book also.

The guide is even aesthetically pleasing....very much so.....with nicely placed original small high end (whew!)photographs from some of the resorts giving a pleasant intuitive feel for the area you might be choosing. If you are planning a ski trip in N. America or Europe, buy this guide. Highly Recommended

This book makes up for deficiencies in Leocha's Ski Europe (SE)
book.

SE has a little nice text specifically on European resorts,
but this Reuters guide is head and shoulders vastly
better organized, has color geographic and trail maps which
SE lacks which is a criticism by a reviewer of SE. Pages have
color chapter tabs by country or state. This book is packed.
If you find the text fonts small: you might want a magnifying
reading glass (worth it).

Each chapter starts with +s and -s for each area or region
as well as various ratings.
Travel, lodging, eating, tend to be covered lightly but
adequately.

Gill and Watts also has a small nice relatively complete attempt
to list "all" resorts in the entire world in the index.

This book is mostly oriented toward Alpine downhill skiing and
very little Nordic skiing whereas SE has a small multipage
chapter and Nordic comment associated with each resort.

This book, and other ski oriented books is likely best
supplemented by a conventional regional travel guide like
Lonely Planet, but this book is quite adequate stand alone.

Small detail: SE lacks Norway and many other European countries
and ski areas: it is largely oriented to the Alps.
SE has slightly better coverage of Spain (the Pyrenees AND
the Sierra Nevada): a slight plus (+) if interested in Spain.

There are a few UKisms in this book for American readers.
It is amusing to read about the English view of American resorts.
This can be regarded as a calibration to those who are
knowledgeable of your listed local resorts in this book.

Worldwide skiing really is not oriented toward beginning skiers,
especially those only speaking English in non-English speaking
resorts (better to learn near home: save your money) and get more
benefit as a more intermediate or advanced skier.

Whether or not this book will be useful to you depends on what type of skier you are. This doesn't mean what ability level, but whether or not you cherish the same things that the writers of the book do: good snow, good trails, good atmosphere ("charming village"), and most amusingly, good lunches. (Maybe it's because they're Brits, but these guys love a serious meal in the middle of their day and will mark it as a real minus if the resort has bad food!)
Basically, the book is fantastic. It's well organized, well laid out, and crammed full of carefully researched descriptions. If they don't have info about a particular aspect of a place, for example, the ski schools, they will say so upfront. But this is a rare occurance; usually they have clear, concise and dead-on accurate information about resorts literally worldwide. They know their own preferences well enough to state them clearly, so that you can easily figure out how your take on things compares to the authors'.
As another amazon reviewer suggested, reading the reviews of resorts that you've skied will give you a standard from which you can guage their perspective. They review trails for all levels: beginner, intermediate (see below) and expert. They are particularly good at breaking up that catch-all term "intermediate", and describing trails at different resorts as appropriate for the "aggressive" intermediate or "timid" intermediate.
I would not suggest reading this book on the fly; there is just too much information in there. Read through it before you plan your trip, if you want to get the most out of your time and money.

With all the resources on skiing available on the web, printed guidebooks have almost become obsolete. Resort web sites and ski portals such as DCSki typically provide most of the information found in guidebooks. Web sites also contain up-to-the-minute information on weather and conditions plus timely reviews and firsthand accounts for just about every ski resort on the planet. Finally, many web sites are true communities of practice, places where devotees to snow sports come together and exchange information and ideas.

With that being said, I must confess that I have finally found a guidebook worth purchasing. Where to Ski and Snowboard Worldwide is the ultimate reference for those contemplating a ski trip to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The book features full length chapters on every major destination resort in Europe plus additional chapters covering major resorts in the rest of the world, including the U.S. and Canada. Within each chapter, a reader will find a general review of the resort; a description of slopes for each ability level; and a guide to accommodations, dining, and aprés ski.

Readers will appreciate the no-nonsense candor of this book. At the beginning of each chapter, the guide provides a 1-5 star rating for various aspects of the resort ranging from slopes to aprés ski, and also a quick list of pluses and minuses for each resort. The authors, for example, give Courchevel lots of stars for snow, slopes, and lifts, but only two stars for charm. In its plus/minus matrix, the authors note that Courchevel has "extensive, varied local terrain to suit everyone from beginners to expert," but then notes in the minus column that the resort is "expensive," and that its villages are "soulless." In short, Where to Ski calls the shots where it sees them, offering both compliments and criticisms for each resort profiled.

Where to Ski also offers a nifty "Mountain Facts" sidebar in each chapter that allows one to quickly compare resorts by benchmarks such as skiable vertical in both meters and feet, number of lifts, and kilometers/miles of trails. There is also a "resort ratings at a glance" section at the beginning of the book that brings together the ratings the book gives to each resort in an easy to read table format. If that were not enough, the book provides 200 resort photos, 125 full color trail maps, 70 scale village plans, and general maps for most of the world's major ski regions.

The major weakness of the guide is that it is very Eurocentric. The majority of the 400 resorts covered in detail are in Europe, primarily in the Alps. The book devotes a mere 38 chapters to resorts in the United States, and only four East Coast resorts receive chapter-length treatment: Killington, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, and Sunday River. I nearly returned the book when I did not find a single Mid-Atlantic venue listed in the table of contents. Shame on Reuters! How can this book devote a chapter to ski resorts in Romania and not mention the great skiing of West Virginia and Pennsylvania?

On the plus side of the matrix, what the books lacks in its North American coverage, it more than makes up for in its coverage of Europe. Furthermore, the guide does a superb job of comparing skiing on both continents with an introductory chapter entitled, "Transatlantic differences." From it, I learned that few resorts in North America possess skiable vertical greater than 3,330 feet whereas some of the biggest European resorts offer verticals of over 6,600 feet. The large resorts in Europe also dwarf the biggest resorts in North America in terms of ski terrain. On the other hand, it snows much more in North America, and North American resorts have far more advanced and comprehensive snowmaking than anything found in Europe. There are many other differences that this book describes, but you will have to purchase the book to get a complete rundown.

This was an invaluable guide for going to europe and enjoying some classic and wonderful skiing. The book was so worth the cost that I packed it with me to review plans for the next day while we ski bummed through the french and italian alps. The book pulls together the information you can find and gives a real experience feel to it. It also allows you the freedom to be able to travel on your own without a group, it also allows you to take a trip to europe for less than a resort in the US! Great book, great time.

I cashed the frequent flyer miles and finally went to Europe in the winter. I used this book as a guide among others and found this to be the best source of information to put together a ski-bumming trip to the french and italian alps. Recommendations were top notch, descriptions of what/where to go great, and found this an invaluable guide such that I took it with me to review the next days runs/travels and determine where to head. Using this I was able to put together a trip to europe skiing for less than going to Canada or a US resort. I was also able to avoid the pain of using a travel company that I saw many groups a part of while over there. Enjoy the read and the trip!

This is the rare guidebook that is exactly what it claims to be. It is a great resource for planning a ski trip and, particularly, for choosing between a number of different areas. It offers definite opinions which I found to correlate pretty much with my own with a few exceptions. It may not be the last book you consult when planning a trip since you may want to consult a more guide to the specific area once you have made your choice, but it is unsurpassed in providing a great overview of the major areas.

(based on the UK edition of this book Where to Ski and Snowboard 2002, The Reuters guide, slightly different cover, contents presumably largely similar)

Good accurate unbiased coverage of the major 200 or so resorts around the world, with small paragraphs about many other smaller ski-hills. The UK edition is aimed primarily at UK ski-package holidaymakers but enough info for an independant traveller (UK or USA). UK edition is full mostly full-colour, paid for by small adverts on many pages.

The competing volume (The Good Skiing & Snowboarding Guide, by the UK Consumer's Association) covers the same ground, in a simliar style. You could buy alternate books on a yearly basis to get two points of view while keeping up to date.

One of the hidden advantages of either book for USA skiers is that you can find out how to book through a UK based tour company (who will often split accomodation from flights). Why? Lift pass discounts (typically 5-10% in Europe, 30-40% in USA, based on 6 or 13 day passes), and access to cost-effective half-board "chalet" accomodation (and other exclusive hotel accomodation) which doesn't show in any hotel/resort guide.

The latest edition of this on-going series is a again a "must-own" for the serious adventure traveler.
Each major ski area around the globe is thoroughly, yet concisely, covered with enough detail to get a feel for the environs and to plan a trip. Personally, this is the only guidebook I carry when traveling to snowboarding or ski internationally.
The trail maps may be small, but convey enough information on the scale of the skiable area. The update contact information and lodging recommendations have never let me down.
At TRAILSOURCE.COM, we've given this book a 5 Star Review.

Absolutely the best, most accurate and most user friendly book ever published on worldwide ski resorts. Wish they would print an updated version but this is still worth purchasing.