Winter is officially in full force, which means one thing:  About 90% of DU is thinking about skiing/snowboarding and when they’re going up to the mountains next.

Going abroad can be a great chance to not only learn and take classes in a foreign environment, but also take a short trip or two to ski the slopes in places such as the Alps or the Andes.

Europe:

With many students studying abroad in Europe heading to the Alps is a no-brainer for most ski or snowboard enthusiasts, but also look elsewhere.  If you’re dead set on the Alps, some of the best places to visit are going to be in northern Italy, Switzerland or Austria.  These places will not only provide a great ski session, but will also have phenomenal views of the mountains and surrounding areas.  For other ideas look to Slovenia, may not be the first place you think of, but they have great mountains and resorts.

The one problem you may face with finding great places to go is going to be the crazy high prices that accompany many of the mountain resorts.  The best advice is to plan as early as you can and start looking at smaller villages where the main priority may not be to ski with the princes and princesses of Europe.  A great website to visit is www.skieurope.com, also try www.europe-mountains.com.

South America:

If you’re traveling to South America there are still plenty of opportunities to ski/snowboard in this region.  The Andes offer a great adventure for any level; great places to start looking include the southern Andes region in Chile and Argentina.  Chili in particular boasts great skiing and great views for all visitors!  If you’re looking to experience the mountains in Argentina, the Patagonia region is the way to go.  Check out some of these websites for more info: www.chileanski.com and www.argentinaski.com

Australia and New Zealand:

Australia offers great places to ski in their eastern states like New South Wales.  New South Wales offers great skiing/snowboarding at their Thredbo Village and the abandoned gold mining village of Kiandra.  Both have been flourishing at the ski/snowboarding business for decades!  If you’re in New Zealand check out places like Mt Ruapehu (www.mtruapehu.com), which is the largest natural skiing and snowboarding area in the country.  Most places to ski in New Zealand are going to be on the south island and other great website to look at for New Zealand include, http://snow.co.nz and www.chillout.co.nz.

Remember though, for all the southern hemisphere destinations their winter is our summer and vice versa, so if you’re planning on going skiing in December in Australia it may not work out so well.

Have fun skiing and snowboarding!!