Five Under-the-Radar Resorts!

You might be surprised at the notion that anywhere in the Alps is under the radar, given how many tourists flood there every winter to take advantage of the snow sports, but outside of the well known resorts, there are a surprising number of low key resorts that offer great skiing from beautiful Alpine environments. These are the sorts of spots that you will only know about if someone takes you; they’re filled with locals on the weekends and the rest of the time they’re almost entirely deserted. They’ll feed you great local food in tiny little restaurants run by grumbling locals with only rudimentary English. So without further ado, these are our five under the radar resorts for 2014.

Samoens, Le Grand Massif, France

If you’ve spent any time skiing in one of the other resorts in Le Grand Massif, you’ll at least faintly recognise this one given how often you’ve seen it on the signposts. You can’t ski down to it, but there are ski lockers up the mountain and the download is no more annoying than the bus to and from the lifts you’d need to take in other resorts. Samoens itself is a beautiful medieval French town filled with stunning architecture and great local cuisine. It’s not the place to go for a wild party, but it’s overflowing with rural charm. So overflowing, in fact, that it’s listed as a historical monument. Handily, as part of the Grand Massif it’s also got 265km of piste and a natural bowl down to Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval where guides can take you down fantastic off piste to hidden alpine restaurants.

Obersaxen, Switzerland

This one is the lowest of the low key. It’s pretty close to Flims Laax, one of Switzerland’s more popular resorts, and despite having 120km of piste, short commutes to two different airports and a variation in skiing difficulty levels it’s still somehow mostly unknown. The traditional Swiss mountain village is pretty quiet, and you’d do better going to nearby Flims if you’re looking for après ski glamour.

Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland

This is an entire ski area that has gone blissfully unnoticed by skiers flooding to nearby Verbier year in year out. It’s comprised of St Luc, Grimentz and Zinal, which have only just been linked by a cable car. This resort has off piste on a scale not seen outside of Chamonix and 220km of pisted runs; it’s remarkable that the area isn’t better known. Unspoilt villages offer a traditional Alpine experience, and in terms of Apres Ski the tradition of glacier wine goes back hundreds of years, and the tourist board organises tastings. Otherwise, a trip there isn’t going to be a week long party, but you’re guaranteed some of the best skiing in the Alps in an unusually quiet and traditional environment.  

Warth-Schroecken, Austria

This one is soon to be defunct; the new connection between this ski area and Lech-Zurs means that this season might be the last time you can ski the area in relative quiet. It’s known as the snowiest place in the Alps, and with a reputation that very much precedes it, it won’t be too long before the area is as popular as party-ski Mecca St Anton.  Now that it’s no longer plagued by a limited ski area, Warth-Schroecken offers fantastic skiing, pretty villages and cheap accommodation and now that it’s linked up with the rest of the Arlberg area you could always take a day trip to wild St Anton if you want to get some wild après ski action.

Dienten am Hochkonig, Austria

Only an hour out of Salzberg, with plenty of activities for the kids at the end of the ski day, the Hochkonig ski area is perfect for families. It’s an old Austrian farming village, and it’s got plenty of authentic old world appeal. Dienten is just one of the resorts in the Hochkonig ski area, and they’re all pretty low key and well connected. The area has 150km of piste, and some truly fantastic mountain restaurants that serve hearty local grub and schnapps.