Patagonia, the USA or Europe

In this guide

1. Start with the calendar
2. Then the group
3. Then the kind of week
4. Then the evenings

People arrive at this question expecting a ranking. There isn't one. Each region does its own thing, and the trip decides itself once you answer four questions in order.

Start with the calendar

If you can only travel in July or August, the answer is Patagonia, because the northern hemisphere is out of season. December to April opens Europe and the USA. This single question resolves more trips than the other three combined, and it is worth answering honestly before falling in love with a resort.

Then the group

Mixed abilities do best where the beginner and expert terrain are genuinely separate, so nobody spends the day waiting: Beaver Creek and Deer Valley in the USA, Courchevel in Europe. A group that skis at the same level has far more freedom and can chase terrain instead of compromise.

Then the kind of week

Long open bowls are the signature of Colorado: Vail's Back Bowls and Breckenridge above the treeline. Villages, long lunches and the ritual around the skiing are the signature of Europe. Bariloche is scale and silence, a lake below every run, and a house in Arelauquen waiting at the end of the day.

Then the evenings

This is the question people skip and then regret. A week where the group wants restaurants and life after the last run reads very differently from a week where everyone wants a house, a chef and an early night. Tell us which one you are, and the shortlist usually comes down to two.

In Bariloche, a heli day can be arranged around the week. See our guide Heli skiing, explained for what that actually involves.

If Switzerland and Bariloche are both on your list, we look at each season on its own terms in Switzerland and Argentina: two ski seasons.

If the evenings matter as much as the mountain, see our guide to the best après ski destinations for what the hour after the lifts close looks like in Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

If the real question is not one region but all three in a single season, see planning one ski season across Aspen, St. Moritz and Courchevel.

If Courchevel is the region in question, see what Courchevel 1850 looks like from above for why that village sits at the top of the Trois Vallees.

For a resort built at a smaller scale, see the resort built so you can ski every run in an afternoon.