Booking a ski trip this winter? It might pay to think small
The smaller resorts may offer fewer runs, but they can be perfect for powder hounds in search of off-piste terrain, writes Roger Cox
Times are tough for small ski resorts – not just in Scotland, but all around the world. According to a new paper from two academics at the Institute of Management and Marketing at Innsbruck University, Christoph Pachucki and Birgit Pikkemaat, they face a double-whammy of both environmental and economic challenges, the former due to climate change and the shrinking snow seasons that entails, the latter because, being smaller, they are less able to afford things like artificial snowmaking systems that would help them adapt to a warming world. Nevertheless, according to Pachucki and Pikkemaat, every effort should be made to try and save them.
“Small ski areas play a vital role in Alpine tourism by creating jobs and promoting regional culture,” they write. “They also enhance social cohesion and contribute to regional identity by preserving traditions and strengthening local communities. While facing economic and environmental difficulties, their existence is primarily justified by their social benefits. Small ski resorts should be seen as cultural institutions that impact not only tourism but also the quality of life in Alpine regions.”
In theory, small, independent ski areas shouldn’t stand a chance against the big-name mega-resorts, with their high-speed lifts, impressive hotel offerings and myriad eating and drinking options. Then again, rather than trying to compete on the same terms, Pachucki and Pikkemaat suggest that their salvation might lie in trying to differentiate themselves from their larger and better-resourced competitors.
“Small ski resorts... face a competitive disadvantage compared to larger resorts with regard to supply factors such as kilometres of slopes, cable cars or artificial snowmaking systems,” they write. “However, previous studies have shown that smaller ski resorts can compensate for this disadvantage or even use it as a competitive advantage through specific measures such as lower prices or a focus on particular target groups. Furthermore, studies have found that smaller resorts are associated with positive attributes such as ‘authentic’, ‘family-friendly’, ‘safe’, or ‘less crowded’.”
In other words, as far as some people are concerned, when it comes to choosing a ski resort small can actually be beautiful. The key to survival, then, is perhaps to convey this message effectively to consumers.
Pachucki and Pikkemaat seem to suggest that it’s primarily those with young families or those seeking a quieter holiday who will naturally gravitate towards smaller resorts, and statistically-speaking these probably are the key groups. However, there’s another not-insignificant skier demographic for whom smaller resorts can also be highly attractive: powder hounds.
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The powder hound is a very specific kind of skier. Rather than seeking out perfectly-pisted runs, the powder hound is only really interested in hunting for deep, untouched powder snow – snow that mostly lies beside or between or otherwise away from the marked trails. In fact, as far as the powder hound is concerned, the sensation of bouncing through powder is so superior to the regular on-piste experience that pistes only really exist as a means of getting from one powder stash to the next.
Many of the world’s larger resorts aggressively target this audience by making a big deal of their off-piste offerings: think Whistler in BC or Chamonix in France. Having made the obligatory pilgrimages to several of these pow-Meccas over the years, I can confirm that they do indeed have incredible snow and incredible terrain to boot. That said, they can also get incredibly crowded – and not just with regular on-piste skiers, but with powder hounds.
Why does that matter? Well, untouched powder snow is only untouched until somebody has skied it, after which it’s a lot less fun, so when you get a big pack of powder hounds in one place you have a lot of people all desperately chasing a finite resource. Result? When the ski patrol decides that it’s safe to open – say – the dreamy, un-pisted Symphony Bowl area at Whistler, the queues for the Symphony Express lift that gets you up there can become nigh-on apocalyptic. Sure, the Symphony Bowl is huge, but the Symphony Express has a capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour, so it doesn’t take long for the more obvious lines to get tracked out. No matter how Zen you think you are, dealing with the crowds at times like this can be a stressful business.
The world’s smaller ski areas might not have anything like the same acreage of off-piste terrain as Whistler, and they might not have the same enviable snowfall record either (in excess of 11 metres per year on average, since you ask). However, that’s only one half of the equation. If you happen to find yourself at a small-ish resort with a reasonable amount of off-piste options following a significant snowfall, you may well discover that all but a handful of the people there are happy to stick to the pistes, leaving you free to clock up as many powder laps as your burning thighs will allow. So, if you’re planning an overseas ski trip this winter, before booking a week at that glitzy mega-resort, at least consider a smaller, more modest alternative; you might be very glad you did.
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