What Makes Ski Resorts Good For Intermediates?
For intermediate skiers, the best resorts offer a big ski area and a variety of terrain. Larger, interconnected ski areas allow you to ski from village to village without repeating the same runs. The best intermediate resorts combine a high percentage of red runs with excellent piste grooming, good lift infrastructure to minimise queuing, enough blue runs to enjoy easier days when your legs are tired, and forgiving black runs for those that are ready to challenge themselves and/or to avoid a detour.
Intermediate Ski Resorts
The intermediate level is where most skiers spend the majority of their skiing lives, and where the choice of resort makes the biggest difference. Intermediate skiers typically prefer not to have to ski the same runs day after day in ski areas that are too small, or feel intimidated if a resort’s red runs are too challenging. Neither makes for a great holiday. Intermediate skiers relish skiing a variety of long, well-groomed, red and blue runs.
The best ski resorts for intermediate skiers reflect a combination of ski area extent, piste variety, high-speed lifts with minimal queuing and the opportunity to ski far beyond the local mountain. The best intermediate resorts don’t just give you red runs to ski; they give you mountains to explore and a good selection of characterful huts and mountain restaurants for pit stops and relaxing lunches.
What To Look For In An Intermediate Ski Resort
Ski Area Extent
Ski area (kms or acres) is the headline stat for intermediate skiers, and we take it seriously. Once you’re comfortable skiing a variety of blue and red runs, you’ll want to cover more ground. To ski from village to village, explore different valleys, and clock up long distances without repeating the same runs. We favour ski resorts that are part of a larger linked ski area, where a week of skiing genuinely doesn’t require you to retrace your tracks.
Variety of Pistes
Piste variety matters as much as total ski area extent. A resort with mostly very challenging pistes serves intermediate skiers poorly. We favour ski resorts with plenty of well-groomed blue and red slopes, enough easy runs to enjoy when legs are tired, and enough challenging reds to allow intermediate skiers to keep improving.
Efficient Lift Systems
Ski lift infrastructure separates great intermediate resorts from good ones. A large ski area with slow, outdated lifts and long queues during peak periods significantly reduces the amount of ground you can cover in a day. We factor in lift capacity (riders per hour), the proportion of modern high-speed chairlifts and gondolas, the overall efficiency of the lift network, and skier density (the size of the ski area and total lift capacity) when ranking intermediate resorts.
Altitude & Vertical Elevation
Vertical drop rewards intermediate skiers especially. A resort with 1,500m (nearly 5,000 ft) or more of vertical elevation delivers long, satisfying descents from the highest lifts to valley base stations. For intermediate skiers, top-to-bottom runs of 10km or more are one of skiing’s great pleasures, and not all ski resorts offer this.
Snow Reliability
Intermediate skiers are more adaptable than beginners when snow conditions are poor. Still, icy pistes on a large mountain are dangerous and demoralising, particularly on steeper red runs where edge grip is critical. Our intermediate ski resort ratings factor in snow reliability scores alongside ski area extent, varied terrain with good vertical elevation and lift system capacity.
Intermediate Ski Resorts: Europe v North America
Intermediate Skiing in Europe
The best intermediate ski resorts in Europe are located within the great linked domains (ski areas) of the Alps. Les Trois Vallées, with 600km of marked pistes, is considered the gold standard by many skiers, and Paradiski and Portes du Soleil are similarly vast. Likewise, Austria’s mighty Arlberg region, with 300km of marked runs, is world-class for intermediates. Similarly, the Ski Welt and KitzSki ski areas also offer superb intermediate skiing coupled with quintessentially Tirolean charm. Switzerland’s Jungfrau, Valais and Graubünden regions also feature strongly in our selection, along with Italy’s Aosta Valley and the massive Dolomiti Superski network (1,200km of slopes and 12 ski areas), which also boast some of the most iconic mountain views in the Alps.
Intermediate Skiing in North America
North American ski resorts offer intermediate skiers a different but equally compelling experience. Western ski resorts in Colorado, Utah, and British Columbia are often characterised by perfectly groomed corduroy pistes, exceptional snow quality, and significant vertical drop. The grooming standards at the best North American resorts are consistently higher than those of most of their European equivalents, and hospitality in the USA and Canada is first-class, but without the hundreds of years of history and charm so prevalent throughout Alpine resorts in Europe. However, most of the best ski areas in North America are significantly smaller than those in Europe. Also, average lift ticket and ski lesson prices in the USA, in particular, are significantly higher and continue to trend upward.
