Ditch The Heatwave And Go Skiing

matterhorn

Glacier ski resorts are the places to head to in the summer. Set at 2,500m these resorts have low temperatures at altitude. Here we list some of the best summer ski resorts that don't require you travelling to the other side of the world.

Saas Fee, Switzerland

Saas Fee is open from July through to the end of October. One day costs 84 CHF, 6 days 505 CHF, 3 flexi days 269 CHF. The Allalin glacier is set at 3,600m and offers 20km of pistes and two lines of kickers in the freestyle park. The resort also offers aerial trekking through a forest to wine tasting.

Getting to Saas Fee can take time unless you can fly into Sion airport. Transfer from there is about 1.5 hours. If not you can always fly to Geneva and then get the train to Visp and then the bus to resort. From Geneva you are looking at about 2.5 hours. It is worth it though, a really pretty, car free resort.

Zermatt-Cervinia, Switzerland-Italy

Zermatt is open April through to October and Cervinia is open June through to September. A ski pass costs 83 CHF for one day, 6 days will cost 331 CHF. Zermatt and Cervinia share a ski area that offers you 23km of runs, you can also access the famous Gravity Park which is the highest in Europe with kickers, rails and boxes.There is also the added bonus of seeing the Matterhorn close up.

If you want to base yourself in Cervinia then fly to Turin with a transfer time of 1 hour, 40 minutes, or Geneva although the transfer time is longer, 2 hours, 45 minutes. If you want to be in Zermatt then Sion airport is 1 5 hours away or Geneva, 2 hours 50 minutes.

Hintertux, Austria

Hintertux is open May to October. A 1 day pass will cost 45 euros, 6 days 215 euros. It offers 60km of piste and the Betterpark with 120m superpipe, boxes, table top and rails. The resort also offers mountain biking, ice climbing and hiking.

You will get a quick transfer to Hintertux from Innsbruck airport, 1 hour 30 minutes, or Salzburg 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Les Deux Alpes, France

Les Deux Alpes is open from June to the end of August, its a small summer season but 1 day will cost 40 euros and  6 days will cost 200 euros and as its so close it is well worth a punt. You will find 11 runs open and a huge 18 hectare freestyle area with a halfpipe, super pipe, hips, rails and air jumps. Children can access the day camps throughout the summer and if you purchase the 6 days pass you can also access swimming activities, tennis, tobogganing, golf and archery so it offers good value for money.

Nearest airports to Les Deux Alps are Grenoble 1 hour 30 minutes transfer and Lyon 2 hours 30 minutes. If you want to fly to Geneva the transfer time is longer at 3 hours,50 minutes.

Summer Skiing

if you are going to ski in Europe in the summer do remember there are some differences with the winter season. Some do not stay open the whole day so do check opening times but one advantage of this is that summer ski passes tend not to cost as much..In addition many resorts offer lift passes that also enable you to access other sports free of charge like swimming.Many do run ski schools over the summer. Another benefit of summer skiing is simply being in the fresh air of a ski resort!

By Will Smith