So there you are, standing on your sofa, screaming FASTER FASTER FASTER at the bobsleigh/downhill/skicross events on telly at the Sochi Winter Olympics. The crisps are all over the floor, there’s a puddle of beer on the coffee table – and you’ve got more winter sports buzz than you know what to do with.
How on earth are you going to burn it off?
Right here, of course, courtesy of our guide to the best resorts with a Winter Olympics flavour. Holiday in any one of them and, if you’re prepared to experiment, you’ll get a great taste of what the world’s best snow and ice athletes have just put themselves through.
And you’ll probably be able to try a little curling, too…
Innsbruck, Austria: try the bobsleigh at Igls…
Photo: tyrol.com
And Klammer’s gold-medal Downhill run on the Patscherkofel…
Photo: Patscherkofelbahn/Facebook
Then ski cross-country at Seefeld…
Photo: tyrol.com
With a bit of shooting on the biathlon course…
Photo: welove2ski.com
Before relaxing over some Alpine curling.
Photo: welove2ski.com
And if you’re feeling really salty…
Photo: Wurgler Flughunde/Facebook
Olympic years: 1964 and 1976
Ringed by Alpine peaks, and knee-deep in Olympic history, Innsbruck is a great place to burn off your Winter Olympics buzz – although you won’t find all the action focused in a single resort. The best policy is to choose either Igls, on the outskirts of the city, or Seefeld, 30 minutes’ drive along the Inn valley, and then do the odd day trip to complete your full complement of sports.
Igls is for speed freaks. It’s here can you can jump into a bobsleigh – €95pp per descent – before clicking into your ski boots and heading to the top of the 2250m Patscherkofel to ski the Olympia Abfahrt. This is the run on which Franz Klammer won his Downhill gold in 1976, skiing on the edge of disaster from top to bottom. Then, catch a suburban bus down into the centre of Innsbruck, to skate in its big indoor ice arena.
Meanwhile, Seefeld is for those who like their sport at a slower pace. Set on a pretty, forested plateau, it’s home to a 174-mile network of cross-country trails, and the excellent Martin Tauber cross-country academy – where 3x½ day lessons cost €90. For €56 you can add two hours of basic biathlon – where you ski a small circuit armed with an air rifle, stopping now and again to shoot at tiny circular targets. The trick is learning how to control your breathing when you pull the trigger, and it’s blast in more ways than one.
Seefeld is also home to some lovely outdoor ice rinks – one of which is used for skating, the others for Alpine curling, which is a laid-back and lightweight version of the Olympic sport.
Finally, about half an hour’s drive north from Innsbruck is the Wörgl Flughunde, where parties of 3-15 skiers can have a crack at ski-jumping (one three-hour session costs €50/£41). The smallest ramp is 20m, and apparently intermediate-level skiers are welcome to have a crack at it.
Good luck with that…
Tour operators: Crystal and Snow Finders for Igls and Seefeld, Inghams and Neilson for Seefeld.
The Canyons, Utah: great skiing on the mountain…
Photo: © Welove2ski.com
Plenty of terrain parks for budding acrobats…
Photo: © canyonsresort.com
Big icy thrills at the Olympic Park next door…
Photo: utaholympiclegacy.com
Cross country in the valley below…
Photo: White Pine Touring/Facebook
And some great bars on Main Street in which to celebrate.
Photo: welove2ski.com
If Mother Nature cooperates, you might make the odd powder turn, too…
Photo: © justinolsen.com
Olympic year: 2002
The Salt Lake City Olympics were typical of modern editions of the games, in that they were spread out all over the place. The downhill racing was a Snowbasin, the moguls at Park City, the cross-country at Soldier Hollow and the ski jumping and bobsleigh at Bear Hollow – to name just a few of the venues.
Day-tripping between all the different sites is not a recipe for a stress-free holiday. But if you’re looking for a more rounded trip, with lots of skiing and just the occasional taste of Olympic action, then Utah works a treat – especially if you check into the The Canyons. This is Utah’s largest ski area, with a rich mix of terrain, as well as convenient ski-in, ski-out accommodation, and the Olympic bobsleigh course next door, where one hair-raising run will set you back $200pp. You can also try cross-country skiing in the valley below the resort (one-hour lessons cost $45) – and celebrate your triumphs nearby in the bars and restaurants of Main Street, Park City.
Meanwhile the Olympic Oval in West Kearns, a suburb of Salt Lake City, is the place to try curling. The drive from The Canyons takes about 45 minutes.
Oh yes, and don’t forget to sacrifice a few chickens to the Snow Gods before your holiday: to increase the chances of skiing some legendary Utah powder while you’re in town.
Tour operator: Ski Independence.
Whistler, Canada: Bang…
Photo: © Noel Hendrickson
Roar…
Photo: © David McColm
Swish…
Photo: © Noel Hendrickson
Whoosh…
Photo: © Paul Morrison
Rattle.
Photo: © Jeff Patterson
Olympic year: 2010
The skating events were held in Vancouver and the freestyle events at Cypress Mountain. But there’s no doubting that, of the three main venues for the 2010 games, Whistler is where it’s at for Olympic wannabes.
The quality of the skiing makes sure of that. In a good winter, Whistler’s two big mountains offer not just great snow, long descents and a steady pitch: they also serve up an unusual amount of terrain in a single top-to-bottom run. So when you’re not bombing around on the bobsleigh at the Whistler Sliding Centre, you’ll be, er, bombing around on skis or snowboard on the slopes.
Olympic sports to sample include cross-country and biathlon at the Whistler Olympic Park (1½ hr cross-country lessons currently cost $59 including rentals); bobsleigh and skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre (one bobsleigh run costs $169); and all kinds of skiing up on the mountain.
You can, for example, ski the men’s and women’s downhill courses, get some Freestyle tuition for a taste of the slopestyle and half-pipe events, and if you fancy the thrill of proper competition, race your ski buddies through the gates on the dual Giant Slalom course. This doesn’t replicate an Olympic event – but it is a lot of fun.
Oh yes, and if you’ve got $4000 to burn you can also go skiing with 2010 skicross gold medallist Ashleigh McIvor…
Tour operators: Ski Independence, Crystal, Inghams, Neilson, Snow Finders, Alpine Answers and Skiworld
St Moritz, Switzerland: Skiing…
Photo: © swiss-image.ch/Christof Sonderegger
Curling…
Photo: © swiss-image.ch/Christian Perret
Gliding…
Photo: © swiss-image.ch/Christof Sonderegger
Sliding…
Photo: © swiss-image.ch/Roger Schaffner
And a whole lot of other sports besides.
Photo: © swiss-image.ch/Marc van Swoll
Olympic years: 1928 and 1948
It’s a long way from the nearest city – and so doesn’t seem to warrant consideration as modern Winter Olympics venue. But in every other respect St Moritz is near-perfect as the setting for a festival of winter sports. The mountains are big and steep, the valley floor is as flat as a pancake, and the climate is as reliable as you can get in the Alps. In fact, it’s so reliable that St Moritz’s bobsleigh run is the only one hosting international competitions which isn’t artificially refrigerated. One guest run on the bob costs CHF250.
Aside from the gravity-driven pursuits, cross-country skiing is the big draw here. There’s a 125-mile network of trails to explore, and a course of 3x2hr lessons with the local school will set beginners back CHF110. Experts will want to set their sights on the 26-mile Engadin Skimarathon, which takes place in March. But don’t imagine you can just show up and start racing. Up to 13,000 skiers take part, and you need to register by February 14.
Curling is also popular and you’ll find “sheets” (the stretch of ice on which you play) not just in St Moritz, but in nearby villages such as Celerina and Pontresina too. Booking a sheet and equipment in St Moritz costs CHF100 an hour through the St Moritz Curling Club – and an instructor is CHF50 an hour extra. English isn’t spoken as a matter of course in the club, so if you get stuck, ask the St Moritz tourist office for help with your booking.
Tour operators: Momentum, Ski Independence, Snow Finders, Alpine Answers, Powder Byrne, Inghams and Neilson.
Winter Olympics fans should also check out our features “All You Need to Know About Sochi” and “The Top Olympic Skiers of All Time”.