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- Top 10 Unlikeliest Locations
Anyone who's been skiing regularly over the past 30 years may now have notched up some different resorts to the
mainstream alpine retreats. Personally, I always remember how odd it felt skiing in almost permanent darkness in northern Finland,
still with almost no idea of the surrounding landscape after 7 days, or how odd it felt landing in the heat of Malaga before
heading for mainland europe's most southerly major ski area at Sierra Nevada. 30 years ago not many people from the UK or Ireland
would have entertained the thought of skiing in the arctic circle or next to the Med, however, both these areas are now regulars
in the annual ski brochures.
So where are the most unlikeliest ski resorts in the World ? Read on for our top 10...
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It's not Iran's geography that makes this such a surprise to many people (Iran is actually one of the world's most mountainous countries)
but the ups and downs of the country's political history. However, many of Iran's ski resorts (and there are plenty - at least 20 that we're
aware of) were setup before the 1979 revolution. Dizin is the largest in the whole of The Middle East and has,
because of it's altitude (2600 - 3600m), a snow record the envy of many alpine resorts - the season lasts consistently from December to May.
The resort has 23 pistes, 15 lifts and a surprising array of accomodation and restaurants.
Best get your visa sorted before you travel there though.
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Yes, we found this one hard to believe too, but it's true. Yes, we knew South Africa had mountains but we didn't think it would be
viable to attempt the creation of a ski resort. The South Africans did though, developing Tiffindell on the slopes of Ben McDhui
(the highest mountain in the Eastern Cape province) at a height of 2700m since 1993. Snow-making is claimed to 'guarantee' snow for 100
days of the year on the 1km main slope and some small beginners slopes, however there are plans to increase that to almost 10km of pistes.
The Apres Ski centres around South Africa's highest bar - Ice Station 2720 and there is accomodation at the resort for about 150 people.
It's not exactly easy to get to though if you're thinking of just popping up there to get a few runs in - with travel times of
nearly 5-10 hours from most of the big South African cities. However, the novelty factor might mnake it worth the effort for real
enthusiasts - a bit like creating a game reserve in the middle Switzerland. Hmm, there's an idea.
Websites:
www.skisouthafrica.co.za
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One of our personal favourites this, purely because the majority of people in the UK expect Belgium to be completely flat,
just like it's neighbour Holland. Well a lot of it is, but head down to the beautiful tree-covered hills of the Ardennes in the south
and the landscape changes enough to provide Belgium with not one but two ski resorts ! Let's not kids ourselves, the area is limited -
Monte des Brumes has a top altitude of 530m and a vertical drop of 180m, a 1km piste (an 850m long red that extends a further 150m into
a beginners slope), but 1km is better than 0km ! Just down the road Val de Wanne has a ski piste, luge and tubing slopes, 7 lifts and 12
snow making canons. With the area benefitting from the effects of the colder continent, the crazy Belgians can get a surprising number
of days in. And with all those lovely Belgian abbey beers on offer the bars are half decent too.
Websites:
www.valdewanne.be
and
www.montdesbrumes.be
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Another unexpected offering from Europe, this time served up by Portugal.
And you thought people only went on holiday to the Algarve ? Well, you wouldn't be far wrong - the country's only ski resort is extremely
small with just 4 lifts, 130m of vertical descent and 10 pistes. Given Portugal's latitude and With a top height of just under 2000m, snow
cant be guaranteed but it doesn't stop the locals heading there at the weekends and testing the lift capacity to it's limits.
You may also see the resort referred to as the Vodafone Ski Resort, because the communications company has sponsored
the whole place since 2005.
Websites:
www.rt-serradaestrela.pt
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India now has a few small ski resorts, and Auli has overtaken the likes of Gulmarg and Shimla as the country's premier spot, even being
picked to host the Asian Winter Games in 2009. Set in the Himalayas in a region bordering Tibet, it's fair to say that you won't be
disappointed with the scenery on offer. The resort features India's longest gondola - a 4 km ride up from Joshimath, taking you from
just over 1000m up to 3000m. The ski area is hardly vast - with runs of just over 3km, and the season is notoriously unpredictable,
with late January to early March being the best bet for a good covering of the white stuff. Following disappointing falls in recent
winters the local government is now investing in snow-making machines and an artificial slope. But if you fancy a trip there dont expect
it to be easy... the nearest airport is 273km away and the nearest train station is even further - 300km !
Websites:
www.tourism-of-india.com
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Le..where ? you ask. You know, Lesotho - that small country sat smack bang in the middle of South Africa, completely surrounded by it.
With only one other ski resort in southern Africa (Tiffindell) Afri-Ski is a purpose built resort that was developed to attract the
market of the wealthy neighbouring South Africans. Despite a high altitude of 3222m, there's no guarantee of snow, although there are
snow making machines. The ski-season, weather permitting, normally runs from June to August, with a 1km slope and a couple of lifts.
Accomodation directly within the resort is limited to a lodge and some chalets. If you ever pay a visit it's worth noting that you'll
need to take planty of folding - the entire resort runs on a cash-only basis, with no credit cards or cheques. Now that's something
you dont get at St Moritz !
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Lebanon really is one place where you can ski in the morning and then head less than an hour down the road for a swim in
the Med !
The country has a number of other ski resorts (Laqlouq, Faraya-Mzaar, Faqra) with Cedars in the north being the oldest
although Faraya-Mzaar is probably now the best known).
The length of Lebanon's ski season can be suprisingly long thanks to the high altitude of the resorts, and can last a good
4 months anywhere between November and April.
The Cedars resort is named after the tree was once prolific amongst the country's mountain ranges and even appears on their flag.
The government built the country's first ski lift there way back in 1953 and has added many more since, including a new gondola
that now takes skiers up from the 2095m base to the top height of 2870m.
Website:
www.skilebanon.co.uk
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Utter the word Morrocco and everyone thinks of Marrakech, Casablanca and baking hot temperatures. Not many people think
of snow and skiing. But with the Atlas Mountains running down the spine of the country both do exist.
There are 2 resorts offering a limited amount of skiing, Oukaimeden just south of Marrakech, normally has snow in
January and February and has a
small number of ski lifts and runs. Mischliffen, near Ifrane, also has a couple of lifts and a number of slopes.
It's worth noting that the conditions and facilities can be very unpredictable. Whilst the prices can be low, ticket offices
are often small shacks, and there aren't restaurants on the slopes. Temperatures in January and February can
still reach the 20's so you'll need to get out early to enjoy any snow. Oh yes, and the lifts often don't run.
However, we have heard strange tales of donkey's being used
to get skiers up the slopes !
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The summit of Mount Hermon is actually on the border of Syria and Lebanon, and rises to 2814m. However, the southern section of
the mountain falls within the Golan Heights and has been controlled by the Israelis since 1967 and is the highest point
in Israeli controlled areas.
The first ski lift was installed a few years later in 1971, but it wasn't until the early 1980's when things really
started to take off and the ski area developed. The ski area ranges from a base of 1600m up to 2073m, with 5 lifts serving
2 blacks, 7 reds, 3 blues and 1 green piste. There are a couple of mountain restaurants, a ski school and a snowpark has recently
been created. There's no actual village at the skiing area itself, with the nearest accomodation found
at Neve Ativ and Majdal Shams.
Website:
www.skihermon.co.il
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There are a few resorts that could have made our list but thanks to global warming are no longer running...
Chacaltaya in Bolivia would have definitely made the top 10 but the glacier totally disappeared in 2009. It had been retreating rapidly
since the 80's but was still expected to last to at least 2015. The ski area was known for a number of firsts - it was the world's
most equatorial, had the highest lift in the world (17,300 feet!) and had South America's first tow rope (installed in 1939).
Before the effects of globals warming it was considered too cold to ski there in
the winter and there were also many stories told of the hair-rasing drive up the road to the lifts, with talk of bus drivers drinking
alcohol as a source of dutch courage before the icy drive up there ! Unfortunately the only possibility of skiing at the once famous
resort is now just on occasional snowy days.
Haut Asco on the meditrerean island of Corsica used to have pistes and a few lifts but they haven't been used for a few years now.
Other places that are worth a mention include...
Australia: ok, so it's common knowledge to keen skiers that it has created a reasonable ski
industry , but your average Jo on the street will often expresses surprise if told this, thinking that the whole of Australia lives off
barbies and in fear of bush fires for 365 days of the year.
Kazakstan: (you know, the homeland of Borat) has a couple of ski reorts, with Chimbulak in the mountains near Almaty being the best known.
Mexico: Monterreal in the state of Coahuila has a couple of articial runs and lifts but it is actually possible to ski here on
natural snow for a short period between December and January.
Turkey: not suprising to anyone who knows anything about Turkey's geography (don't forget that the countries highest peak, Mount Ararat,
is actually higher than Mont Blanc), but again many people dont realise what a vast place it is and only know it only as a
summer destination.
There are a number of resorts offereing skiing, with Uludag and Palandoken amongst the most popular.
Closer to home, and whilst you cant really call them ski resorts, England does have a number of area with lifts and groomed pistes,
click here
for the full list.
Finally, there are a whole host of other strange places that dont have resorts but where you can do a bit of unexpected extreme skiing:
Indonesia, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mexico to name but a few. But we'll save that top 10 for another day...
The map highlights the top 10 locations. Click on the + icon on the map to zoom in. Or hit the - icon to see
where they are in relation to the rest of Europe.
Keywords
: most unlikeliest ski resorts in the world
: the world's most ununusual ski resort locations
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Austria 
Finland 
France 
Italy 
Norway 
Switzerland 
Summer Skiing 
1. Dizin (Iran)
2. Tiffindell (South Africa)
3. Mont des Brumes / Val de Wanne (Belgium)
4. Serra da Estrela (Portugal)
5. Auli (India)
6. Afri-Ski (Lesotho)
7. Cedars (Lebanon)
8. Mischliffen (Morrocco)
9. Mount Hermon (Israel)
10. (Greece)
Other Resorts Worth a Mention...