Skiing Without Borders
One place where immigration controls are not a topic of conversation is on a ski slope. Many of Europe’s greatest ski resorts offer the unique opportunity to cross borders, which can be both culturally interesting and earn you bragging rights—for example, have breakfast in France and lunch at a mountainside trattoria in Italy in the same day. While skiing from one country to the next doesn’t have to be a grueling trek—these areas offer runs for a range of ski levels—many cross-border pistes are for advanced skiers. Guides who can help assess your abilities and weather conditions on sky-high terrain are often essential for your outing. Even though passports are rarely checked, it’s not a bad idea to bring one; if the weather changes and you can’t get back over the border, you don’t want to be stranded without it.
Italy to France: Chamonix and Courmayeur
Cable cars travel Mont Blanc, the Alps’ highest peak (15,777 feet), from the French resort of Chamonix and Italy’s Courmayeur. On the Italian side, take the Skyway Monte Bianco, a dazzling transport system—cabins rotate as you travel up the mountain—anchored to a cantilevered station at Punta Helbronner with views of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. For advanced skiers with guide, the trophy experience is the Vallée Blanche, a 12-mile off-piste glacier descent into Chamonix. Both resorts have good options for beginners/intermediates. chamonix.com; cervinia.it
Photo by Montenvers M. Coquard
Switzerland to France: Les Portes du Soleil
One of the world’s largest ski areas and the oldest to offer cross-border skiing, Les Portes du Soleil is an interconnected snow land that impresses by sheer numbers alone: 12 resorts, 286 slopes and a crowd-thinning 196 lifts. The famous run here is the “Swiss Wall,” a spectacularly precipitous, mogul-heavy, half-mile descent for extremely advanced skiers that begins in France and ends in Switzerland. For those at green/blue (easiest) levels, there are roughly 150 pistes. portesdusoleil.com
Photo by Christof Sonderegger/Switzerland Tourism
Switzerland to Italy: Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia
Skiing the Matterhorn is enough of a thrill—lifts travel to the Klein Matterhorn at 12,740 feet— but if you want to schuss down to Italy, buy the Ski Pass International, good in both countries. From the Plateau Rosa/Testa Grigia straddling the border, the Ventina run will take you down into Cervinia in Italy. Roughly three-fourths of the trails on the Swiss side are for advanced and expert skiers, but there’s also blue piste from Plateau Rosa to the Zermatt area. zermatt.ch/en; cerviniatouristoffice.com
Germany to Austria: Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal
Bavaria’s southernmost ski resort, Oberstdorf, shares the Fellhorn/Kanzelwand mountains with Kleinwalsertal, an Austrian area you can only reach via Germany. There are many challenging runs here, particularly off piste, along with 47 miles of cross-country trails. Take in the dramatic Alpine views at one of the restaurants near the mountain summits. oberstdorf.de/en/winterholiday
Austria to Switzerland: Ischgl and Samnaun
Ischgl, in Austria’s Tyrol region, is known for a fizzy après-ski and concert scene that has included performers such as Elton John and Bob Dylan. The area’s piste, Eleven, takes you from Greitspitz, a mountain on the border, to the town of Ischgl. The so-called Smuggler’s Run offers the reverse, a schuss from Austria into Samnaun, Switzerland, where you can shop duty-free. (Both runs have black and red classifications.) The resorts offer a nice range of slopes for beginners to expert. ischgl.com; myswitzerland.com/en/samnaun.html
Photo by Österreich Werbung
Slovenia to Italy: Kanin and Sella Nevea
The latest resort to offer cross-border skiing (reopening last winter after a four-year closure), Kanin in Slovenia connects to Italy’s Sella Nevea at the Prevala pass, with pistes of the same name running between the two countries. Slovenia’s highest ski destination offers knock-out views that reach all the way to the Adriatic, a long skiing season (through April/May) and plenty of powder. Experienced skiers will find the most options here, although there are 5 miles of blue, or relatively easy, runs. kanin.si/en/
Russia, Finland and Sweden
If you can’t get enough country-to-country skiing, look into Finland’s Border to Border event, a multiday 273-mile trek held in March that crosses Finland from its border with Russia to the Swedish frontier.
Photo by Matti Koutonen/Visit Finland
Italy to France: Chamonix and Courmayeur
Cable cars travel Mont Blanc, the Alps’ highest peak (15,777 feet), from the French resort of Chamonix and Italy’s Courmayeur. On the Italian side, take the Skyway Monte Bianco, a dazzling transport system—cabins rotate as you travel up the mountain—anchored to a cantilevered station at Punta Helbronner with views of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. For advanced skiers with guide, the trophy experience is the Vallée Blanche, a 12-mile off-piste glacier descent into Chamonix. Both resorts have good options for beginners/intermediates. chamonix.com; cervinia.it
Photo by Montenvers M. Coquard
Switzerland to France: Les Portes du Soleil
One of the world’s largest ski areas and the oldest to offer cross-border skiing, Les Portes du Soleil is an interconnected snow land that impresses by sheer numbers alone: 12 resorts, 286 slopes and a crowd-thinning 196 lifts. The famous run here is the “Swiss Wall,” a spectacularly precipitous, mogul-heavy, half-mile descent for extremely advanced skiers that begins in France and ends in Switzerland. For those at green/blue (easiest) levels, there are roughly 150 pistes. portesdusoleil.com
Photo by Christof Sonderegger/Switzerland Tourism
Switzerland to Italy: Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia
Skiing the Matterhorn is enough of a thrill—lifts travel to the Klein Matterhorn at 12,740 feet— but if you want to schuss down to Italy, buy the Ski Pass International, good in both countries. From the Plateau Rosa/Testa Grigia straddling the border, the Ventina run will take you down into Cervinia in Italy. Roughly three-fourths of the trails on the Swiss side are for advanced and expert skiers, but there’s also blue piste from Plateau Rosa to the Zermatt area. zermatt.ch/en; cerviniatouristoffice.com
Germany to Austria: Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal
Bavaria’s southernmost ski resort, Oberstdorf, shares the Fellhorn/Kanzelwand mountains with Kleinwalsertal, an Austrian area you can only reach via Germany. There are many challenging runs here, particularly off piste, along with 47 miles of cross-country trails. Take in the dramatic Alpine views at one of the restaurants near the mountain summits. oberstdorf.de/en/winterholiday
Austria to Switzerland: Ischgl and Samnaun
Ischgl, in Austria’s Tyrol region, is known for a fizzy après-ski and concert scene that has included performers such as Elton John and Bob Dylan. The area’s piste, Eleven, takes you from Greitspitz, a mountain on the border, to the town of Ischgl. The so-called Smuggler’s Run offers the reverse, a schuss from Austria into Samnaun, Switzerland, where you can shop duty-free. (Both runs have black and red classifications.) The resorts offer a nice range of slopes for beginners to expert. ischgl.com; myswitzerland.com/en/samnaun.html
Photo by Österreich Werbung
Slovenia to Italy: Kanin and Sella Nevea
The latest resort to offer cross-border skiing (reopening last winter after a four-year closure), Kanin in Slovenia connects to Italy’s Sella Nevea at the Prevala pass, with pistes of the same name running between the two countries. Slovenia’s highest ski destination offers knock-out views that reach all the way to the Adriatic, a long skiing season (through April/May) and plenty of powder. Experienced skiers will find the most options here, although there are 5 miles of blue, or relatively easy, runs. kanin.si/en/
Russia, Finland and Sweden
If you can’t get enough country-to-country skiing, look into Finland’s Border to Border event, a multiday 273-mile trek held in March that crosses Finland from its border with Russia to the Swedish frontier.
Photo by Matti Koutonen/Visit Finland
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