The 2010 edition of Where to Ski and Snowboard, now the UK’s only remaining annually printed guide book has been published.
The brand new, completely revised 2010 edition contains 600 pages devoted to detailed description and evaluation of over 430 resorts (in around 150 areas) worldwide.
This year the book covers Germany for the first time (including Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the 2011 World Championships will be held), and there are new chapters on resorts in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Canada.
The number of star ratings for major resorts has been increased by 50% to include ratings, for example, on terrain parks, ski schools, après-ski and family-friendliness as well the usual snow reliability, lift queues, suitability for different abilities etc ratings. There are new sections in all major chapters, and a huge survey of the cost of eating and drinking throughout the Alps and North America has enabled the editors to introduce a unique Resort Price Index (RPI) for each major resort.
The editors manage to combine comprehensive and detailed information with unrivalled ease of use. A key feature for the 30-plus most important resorts is the book’s revolutionary piste maps, each printed over a double-page spread with key aspects of the mountains clearly highlighted. These highlights might include, for example, the editors’ favourite runs, the best areas for easy cruising or tough mogul runs, where to find the best snow, the top mountain restaurants or crucial new lifts that make a big difference.
If the choice seems bewildering, you can start with the book’s 21 ready-made shortlists of resorts, or a comprehensive comparative chart containing 10 star ratings for 120 major resorts.
As usual, the book is completely revised and updated for the season ahead. And the editors attach great importance to making each annual edition as up to date as possible. “We use all the available hi-tech methods to cut the production time of the book so that we can go to press as late as possible but still publish in early September,” explains co-editor Chris Gill. “This year, we feature well over 100 major resort improvements such as new fast lifts, extra snowmaking and smart new hotels.”
The book’s other great strength is less obvious: its dedication to giving uncompromisingly honest and impartial assessments of the resorts. The two editors are famous for telling it like it is, and always take a strong consumerist line. “This isn’t surprising,” explains Chris Gill. “We both learned our craft at Consumers’ Association – where Dave was editor of Which? magazine and I was editor of Holiday Which? and then The Good Skiing Guide.” Dave is now executive editor of Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard magazine.
Where to Ski and Snowboard 2010 is published by NortonWood Publishing, price £18.99. The book is available from all good bookshops, many equipment shops and online at a heavily discounted price at