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Holding music festivals in the Alps has become a popular idea in recent years, as the idea of listening to bands or DJ's next to snow-filled slopes has become a nice winter alternative to the muddy fields of the British summer !

So with ski resorts across Europe battling it out for the best acts or the most outrageous parties, here's a list of some of the top festivals...

10-17 December 2016 Rise Festival

Rise Festival is an independent ski & snowboard music festival set in the French resort of Les Deux Alps. The Rise Festival normally runs for a whole week and is usually held a couple of weeks before Christmas.

It's a dance-oriented festival with lots of DJs and is pretty much a week-long rave high up in the French Alps. Previous years have seen acts such as Ms Dynamite and Kano appearing there.

Rise Festival »


11-17 December 2016 Altitude Festival

If you like skiing or snowboarding, and you like comedy, then the Altitude Festival at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen is the mountain event for you.

First held back in 2006, the event has established itself as a regular fixture on the Alpine entertainments calendar and has always attracted some top-notch talent with the likes of Marcus Brigstocke, Sean Lock, Al "the Pub Landord" Murray, John Bishop, terry Alderton, Stephen K Amos and Zoe Lyons all having featured over the years.

With some of the comedians, e.g. Marcus Brigstocke, being well into their snow-sports some of the gigs can be quite topical to the setting and to snow-sports and there's a good chance of bumping into one or two of them on the slopes in the daytime.

Altitude Festival »


TBC January 2017 Transition Festival

Held in the French resort of Avoriaz, the Transition festival is the sister-event to the world-famous Snowbombing event that's been held for years in the Austrian party resort of Mayrhofen.

Transition is a newcomer to the ski/music festival scene, being held for the first time in 2015. Lasting just under a week, it features plenty of DJs, rappers and musicians appearing at a variety of locations across the resort. It includes some of the best features from the main Snowbombing festival, with more parties than you could shake a ski-stick at, such as woodland parties, pop-up parties, pool parties and mountain-terrace parties. There's even the odd snowsports competition thrown into the mix.

Transition Festival »


18-25 March 2017 Snowboxx Festival

The Snowboxx festival is held each year in March in the French ski resort of Avoriaz. Whilst the week long event features the standard plethora of DJs and musical acts there's also a big emphasis on some manic snow-related activities. So mixed in with the karaoke-gondolas to get you up to the slopes, DJs sessions in igloos and ice caverns you'll also find the likes of "human bowling" (involving giant zorbing balls hurtling down a slope into some equally giant bowling pins), skiers attempting to skim over icy pools and "extreme" snowball fights.

Snowboxx »


Also known as the British Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Championships. With our lack of reliable snow and big mountains, the Championships are held abroad, but that hasn't stopped the week-long event becoming extremely popular amongst members of the UK's thriving freestyle scene. Unlike many other national events it's open to anyone - pro's or amateurs alike. And it's not just about the competition either - the week has become a big music event as well featuring appearances from many of the nation's top DJs.

The Brits »


Mayrhofen is lively enough for the rest of the season, but come Snowbombing week it quite literally goes berserk.

Billed as the greatest show on snow, "an awesome alpine gathering with goggles, guitars and great music on the grandest of stages - the Alps!", it's definitely one of those events where the emphasis is more on the partying than the actual skiing or snowboarding.

Snowbombing »


Anyone who's ever been to Ischgl knows that the Austrian resort certainly knows how to party. And in the world of ski-music festivals it's no exception, as Ischgl plays host to not one winter music festival, ...or even two, ...but three of the things !

The event is called the "Top of the Mountain" and there's one to celebrate the season opening, obviously one to celebrate the season closing, and then a bonus one at Easter just for good measure.

You'll need to check with the official Iscghl website to see which acts are confirmed for each event, but there have been some major stars appearing on the slopes of the Idalp in previous years, with the likes of Elton John, Robbie Williams, James Blunt and even the Beach Boys all doing their stuff there.

Top of the Mountain Season Easter Festival »


Anyone who's ever been to Ischgl knows that the Austrian resort certainly knows how to party. And in the world of ski-music festivals it's no exception, as Ischgl plays host to not one winter music festival, ...or even two, ...but three of the things !

The event is called the "Top of the Mountain" and there's one to celebrate the season opening, obviously one to celebrate the season closing, and then a bonus one at Easter just for good measure.

You'll need to check with the official Iscghl website to see which acts are confirmed for each event, but there have been some major stars appearing on the slopes of the Idalp in previous years, with the likes of Elton John, Robbie Williams, James Blunt and even the Beach Boys all doing their stuff there.

Top of the Mountain Season Closing Festival »


Anyone who's ever been to Ischgl knows that the Austrian resort certainly knows how to party. And in the world of ski-music festivals it's no exception, as Ischgl plays host to not one winter music festival, ...or even two, ...but three of the things !

The event is called the "Top of the Mountain" and there's one to celebrate the season opening, obviously one to celebrate the season closing, and then a bonus one at Easter just for good measure.

You'll need to check with the official Iscghl website to see which acts are confirmed for each event, but there have been some major stars appearing on the slopes of the Idalp in previous years, with the likes of Elton John, Robbie Williams, James Blunt and even the Beach Boys all doing their stuff there.

Top of the Mountain Season Opener Festival »





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