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A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a
White Book of Ski Areas directorySki areas per state (NSAA)
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A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...
.
Scope of activities
TheUS Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...
defines a ski area as: "a site and associated facilities that has been primarily developed for alpine or Nordic skiing and other snow sports, but may also include, in appropriate circumstances, facilities necessary for other seasonal or year-round natural resource-based recreation activities, provided that a preponderance of revenue generated by the ski area derives from the sale of alpine and Nordic ski area passes and lift tickets, revenue from alpine, Nordic, and other snow sport instruction, and gross revenue from ancillary facilities that support alpine or Nordic skiing and other snow sports."
Notable examples
Ski areas can extend over severalmunicipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
(ex: La Plagne in France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Alta Badia in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, etc.) or several countries (ex: Portes du Soleil
Les Portes du Soleil (, literally "The Doors of the Sun") is a major skisports destination in the Alps, encompassing twelve resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With more than 650 km of marked pistes (claime ...
in France and Switzerland). A municipality can have several ski areas (ex: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...
in France, Davos
Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...
in Switzerland, Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...
in Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, etc.). The largest ski areas connect several ski resorts (ex: Les Trois Vallées in France).Business models
Alpine ski areas require substantial capital investment, a significant labor force, and maintenance of an infrastructure that provides dining and retail services to skiers and that assures reliable snow that is appealing to skiers in locations that are accessible to them. Consequently, they require a fee structure and ancillary attractions that provide the revenue to sustain them economically. The natural settings of ski areas require the management of their environmental impacts, according to legal standards. The profession of ski area management requires specialized training in degree programs. Specialities include the maintenance of the lift and trail infrastructure and the management of the supporting commercial enterprises that rent and sell skis and that provide food services.See also
*List of ski areas and resorts
There are many snow ski areas and resorts around the world. At least 68 nations host snow-covered outdoor ski areas.Vanat, Laurent (2022''International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism'' Indoor skiing on snow is available in more than 30 nations ...
* Private ski area (North America)
References
External links
White Book of Ski Areas directory
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