The Best Ski Resorts for Powder Lovers

Many ingredients go into making a resort prime for powder riding - these range from high-altitude lift services for easy access to perfect positioning in snow-sure regions. You want a resort that has a reputation for consistent dumps but is sheltered enough from strong winds so that it retains that fluffy light feeling. Whether you’re keen to seek out the most secret of stashes between the trees, or just want to try your hand at powder riding parallel to the piste, this small selection of resorts is a great place to start.

There’s no feeling quite like gliding through the white room, so we’ve put together this (non-exhaustive) list of some of the Snomad community’s best-rated resorts for powder lovers.

Niseko, Japan

It doesn’t get much better than Hokkaido for powder. The second-largest and most northern island of Japan, Hokkaido is the reason for the country’s well-earned moniker of Japow. There are a few factors that go into making this the epicentre of powder skiing and snowboarding - firstly, it’s surrounded by cold waters, which create ideal temperature and moisture conditions for large amounts of light, dry snow. Secondly, cold winds travel from Siberia pass over the warmer waters of the Sea of Japan, adding to that just-right ratio of snow-to-liquid.

Niseko is based in the southwest of the island with a ski area comprised of 4 interlinked ski resorts – Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and An’nupuri. With an average of more than 15m of snow each season, its renowned for tree runs and wide open bowls all with breathtaking views of Mount Yotei, an active stratovolcano that closely replicates Mount Fuji thanks to its symmetry. One of the highlights of any Japow trip is swapping out après beers for soaking in one of the many onsens - hot bathing pools warmed by the volcanic mountains.

Tignes, France

With a resort level of 2100m, it should come as no shock that both mindblowing off-piste and powder fields are easily accessible in Tignes. Located only a short distance from the Italian border in the higher reaches of the Vanoise National Park, Tignes is also home of the Grande Motte Glacier, which sits at 3546m and is accessible by cable car. There’s also easy access to neighbouring Val D’isère, which opens up even more possibilities.

Insane powder lines include the ‘Chardonnet bowl’ and the Merles marked off-piste, along with the heavier hitters of the ‘fingers’ - a series of couloirs up above the lake. There’s so much off-piste choice here, but those looking to experience their first taste of powder riding can do so relatively safely on the marked Oeillet and Silène runs or beneath the Aiguille Rouge lift beside the myosotis piste.

Revelstoke, Canada

Anyone lucky enough to have visited BC knows that it may as well stand for backcountry. Revelstoke is no exception, and despite it’s limited lift infrastructure (there’s only a handful of lifts) the terrain is extensive and the powder deep. The New York Times hailed it as ‘the heli-skiing capital of the world’ and the Revelstoke backcountry brings a new meaning to dropping in - this is the picture-perfect mountain of untouched snow and dusted pines that many of us dream of.

Revelstoke is also one of the stops on Canada’s ‘Powder Highway’ - a circular route through the Kootenay Rockies that stops off at the resorts of Whitewater, Fernie, Panorama, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Kimberley, Fairmont Hot Springs and RED Mountain. Bucket-list trip, anyone?

St Anton, Austria

While St Anton’s reputation is mostly due to the thumping après scene, it’s also an off-piste powder heaven with advanced in-resort trails that tend to only attract intermediates and above. Yes - you might find yourself in Austria’s chilly answer to Ibiza, but the beauty of that is most of the rowdy revellers have only got one kind of powder on the brain, meaning you’re likely to have the snowy stash all to yourself the following morning. There are plenty of guiding services available here, including both open group and private which makes budgeting a little easier.

There are several off-piste playgrounds here which are renowned for their quality of powder. Bachseite is close to the lifts and is guaranteed to spit you out onto the Happy Valley piste below, while the Albona lift will take you to the Starwars off piste area, onto the north face of Albona - it’s not recommended to do this without a guide or expert-level research and preparation beforehand.

Andermatt, Switzerland

A traditional Swiss mountain village in the Saint-Gotthard Massif, Andermatt has access to two ski areas which ascend up either side of the valley, Nätschen and Gemsstock. Due to it’s location, it catches cold storms from all directions which ensure a decent snowpack and waist-deep powder. Gemsstock Mountain (2691m) is known for its seriously steep descents and thrilling chutes, with a reputation for some of the world’s best freeriding terrain. Famous deep-powder descents include “Felsental”, “Giraffe”, “Guspis”, and “Geissberg”.

However Andermatt isn’t all high-octane death-defying steeps, it’s also a great resort to head for a more laidback family holiday with a side dish of pow. In fact, the best way to reach it would be via The Glacier Express, a Hogwarts-Express-esque experience that takes you through the most stunning scenery Switzerland has to offer, all with panoramic windows and fantastic food and wine.

Also, be sure to check out our exhaustive list of all ski resorts ranked by their powder rating from the Snomad community.