By Lee Tulloch
No go zone for me.Credit: iStock
The last time I went skiing, I ended up chest-deep in a snowdrift and had to be pulled out by two people. I was miserably wet and cold and felt like I was lugging a wet cow as I traipsed back to the ski hut.
And I hadn't even reached the ski slope.
Needless to say, although that was 20 years ago, I haven't clamped on a set of skis since.
I'm strictly après-ski – if I can get as far as the lodge, that is. I'm afraid of chairlifts too. This is has turned out to be an entirely justified fear.
One northern summer, holidaying in the Spanish ski resort of Baqueira, my family and a group of friends hopped on a chairlift to take a scenic ride to the top of the mountain. I felt like an idiot for refusing the ride and staying down below. But I was wise, as it turned out. A storm came in, the chairlift operators went home, and left everyone dangling in the sky with lightning flashing all around.
This is not a sport that appeals to me.
But I'm aware there are people who love skiing and can't wait to get away from Australia's beautiful summer to head to the northern hemisphere, where the mountains are white and the log fires are blazing, where they can ski and skiboard to their heart's content.
Whistler, Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole, Snowbird, Zermatt, Meribel, Chamonix, St Anton, these names sound impossibly glamorous, even for skiphobe me.
I like the idea of skiing. In my mind, all ski resorts are picturesquely stuck in the 1960s and are populated by Britt Ekland, Audrey Hepburn and Alain Delon. I quite fancy myself in Switzerland, Verbier perhaps, romping around in the powder in a fake fur bonnet and poncho by Courreges, and then doing the après-ski in a sunken living room by a roaring copper fire, Dubonnet in hand, listening to Serge Gainsbourg. There's no room for actual skiing in my fantasy.
Is there an amateur sport more expensive than this? Perhaps polo, if you keep your own stable of ponies. The high-end resorts such as Cheval Blanc in Courchevel or the Alpina Gstaad remain playgrounds of the wealthy (or those who have saved up for it for years.) But, even at less ritzy lodges, the whole experience, from snow gear to lift tickets, can feel like a bottomless money pit, especially if you ski in Europe.
This is one of the reasons why Australians are doing their December to March skiing closer to home, in South Korea, China, India and Japan. Airfares are cheaper and it's far less expensive on the ground, with better exchange rates and plenty of incentives to bring skiers to these less iconic resorts, such as affordable day passes.
I hear that the best ski resorts in Asia include the High 1 Resort outside Seoul, with its 18 slopes, Muji Ski Resort in South Korea, with a spectacular run in the clouds 1520 metres above sea level, Alshan Alpine Ski resort, which is situated in a remote forest in Mongolia, Gulmarg in the Himalayas and a number of Japanese resorts such as Niseko and Nazawa Onsen.
Last January, I spent a few days in Hokkaido province in Japan, outside Niseko, a ski village popular with Australians. Sapporo is a short domestic flight from Tokyo and the skiing is a couple of hours' drive from that. Niseko has consistently 15 metres of dry powder each season, dumped from Siberia.
It's certainly beautiful, worth visiting at this time of year even if, like me, you're staying clear of the slopes. Natural hot springs and traditional Japanese hospitality are a bonus. I'm not sure how much of a party town Niseko is, given the Australian contingent, but I was struck by the number of families on the flight at both Haneda and Sapporo airports. The latter airport has some of the most polite attendants anywhere, who offer assistance the minute you get out of the taxi.
Skiing in Japan has another great advantage – it's easily combined with a side trip, a few days in Tokyo or Kyoto, perhaps. Tokyo can be surprisingly mild in winter, it's an affordable destination these days, and children love it as much as adults do.
The Japanese ski resorts may not be authentically Japanese, but the rest of the country is enchanting and worth a journey "off-piste".
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