When the world was not yet measured and rated by the World Wide Web, it was the privilege of a few printed publications to compile an annual ranking of the best ski resorts. Examples of examples of these analogue encyclopedias for winter sports enthusiasts include the ADAC Ski Guide or the large Falk Ski Atlas (do they still exist?). Whoever appeared in the top ten had something to be proud of, and the readers knew where their next winter vacation would lead.
Today the entire digital world seems to be creating a ranking of ski resorts, possibly because the phrase “The best ski resorts” itself “ranks” particularly well in search engines, as it is called in the language of internet people. Whether building societies, manufacturers of wing-giving gummy bear lemonade, travel or of course various Bergfex portals: they are all looking for the super ski resort. What is interesting is that different criteria apparently apply. On ski areas-test.at For example, Zermatt recently regained first place thanks to the Glacier Ride, which cost around 60 million euros. Skiresort.de sees Kitzbühel at the top again, while the World Ski Award from the World Ski Awards initiative goes to Val Thorens. Elsewhere the winners are called St. Anton am Arlberg or Serfaus Fiss Ladis.
Forbes, which as a business magazine can and wants to quantify everything, has even created a World Ski Index. Last winter, Les Trois Vallées, Les Portes du Soleil and Les Quatre Vallées were chosen as the French-Swiss winning trio. It should come as no surprise that the three areas each offer more than 400 kilometers of slopes for so many people. The kilometers of slopes, number of ski lifts and the number of Instagram hashtags were included in the index. It is bitter, however, that the incorruptible ones Forbes-Calculator lists Andorra before Germany when listing the best ski countries.
On top of that; There are of course also rankings of the best ski areas for children, connoisseurs, beginners, snowboarders, party animals and those arriving by public transport. The tow lift not far from the front door may even be your personal top ski area. You just have to know what you actually want – and align your personal index accordingly. The next electronic assistant called artificial intelligence will certainly soon be able to help us answer this question.
The author is still a big fan of small ski areas like the former Olympic site Axamer Lizum.
(Photo: Bernd Schifferdecker (illustration))