Big Sky, Montana, U.S.A
The lesser known cousin of the infamous Jackson Hole, Big Sky offers acre upon acre of endless terrain (5500 acres to be precise), an average snowfall of 35ft per season, and over 4350ft of vertical! With zero queuing! It’s nigh on guaranteed to satisfy even the most ravenous of powder hound.
Big White, B.C., Canada
Notice a trend appearing yet? Big White over in B.C. boasts some of the finest, driest, fluffiest, Canadian powder around! After a fresh snowfall it is more than commonplace to hear people whooping, laughing, and high fiving each other at the end of every run. Expect burning legs at the end of the day, but that’s no problem if you’re on one of our ski instructor courses where you’ll be able to soak your weary limbs in your own private balcony hot tub!
Niseko, Japan
We’ve all heard tales of Japan’s unbelievable powder but it really is something that has to be seen to be believed! Most resorts over in Japan offer fantastic powder but we’ve picked Niseko because not only is it slightly more geared towards the English speaking traveller but you can also get balls-deep in pow at night under Niseko’s floodlights!
Verbier, Switzerland
Verbier is well known throughout Europe as a backcountry mecca, hosting numerous freeride events both for skiing and snowboarding on some of the most challenging terrain around. The Bec des Rosses widely regarded as one of the hardest faces in the world to conquer, and is certainly not worth setting foot on without a well-qualified guide!
Kicking Horse, Canada
Kicking Horse is relatively unknown on the world stage, but perhaps this is because it’s one of Canada’s best kept secrets! And who can blame our Canadian friends when they have a resort that offers so much steep and deep. Arguably one of the best resorts to float down pant-wettingly steep descents!
Chamonix, France
Chamonix offers a great mix of easily accessible and not-so-easily accessible backcountry terrain, or as the hardcore backcountry fans would refer to it “slackcountry vs. backcountry”. Here you can take part in week-long backcountry tours where you’ll be getting fresh tracks until last light, sleeping in mountain huts, and then setting off for more before dawn watching the sun rise as you go! There are also shorter one-day tours on offer but as the saying goes… go big or go home!
We’d love to hear about where your favourite backcountry resort is… obviously we couldn’t include all of them in this post, so drop us a reply and let us know