While celebrities are often papped sunbathing in the white sanded islands of the Caribbean or enjoying the sun on a yacht in the Mediterranean, there are certain celebrities that enjoy taking a break from the limelight in opposite fashion. Skiing has long been a favourite for many of the rich and famous for the cosy cabins, spectacular terrain, isolation and the exclusivity.
There is something so refined about taking a break in the mountains, which is no surprise that the cream of the crop in the media choose the slopes over the surf. We take a look at five destinations where celebrities love to ski around the world.
- Yellowstone, USA
With its famous Yellowstone Club, this cross border national park has celebrities pouring in all over the year, with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel enjoying a getaway here. Covering the sates of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone is more than two times larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
Even the massive volcanic caldera that gives rise to its signature hot springs and geysers still only represents about 40% of the park. The rest is covered by seemingly endless miles of natural beauty that is more typical of what we’ve come to expect from our national parks.
- Mammoth Mountain, USA
Despite being billed as the Golden State, with its beaches and palm trees, California boasts a terrific mountain range in Sierra Nevada. The panoramic views on a clear day from the top of Mammoth Mountain itself could make your whole trip worthwhile.
The king of extreme sports himself; Tony Hawk is a regular here, as is renowned actor, Keither Sutherland. There are three base lodges on Mammoth Mountain, in the form of Main, Canyon and Eagle.
- Sunshine Village, Canada
The Sunshine Mountain Lodge is the only ski-in, ski-out hotel in Banff National Park. Situated in the Canadian Rockies, at 7,200 feet high, it is in Canada’s first national park. The first explorer that passed through the Sunshine area was Governor George Simpson of Hudson's Bay Company in 1841. He was seeking new quicker routes into the Columbia District and his diary noted the "Hole in the Wall" Goats Eye Mountain and he left a blaze in a tree that has since been preserved in the Banff Natural History Museum.
This area is now so unique that it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its history, terrain and wildlife. Alec Baldwin, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon and Michael Keaton have all been recurring skiers at this one of a kind resort.
- Courchevel, France
Courchevel is at one end of the world's largest lift-linked ski area, the Trois Vallées, which has 600km of pistes and over 170 lifts. Since 1973, it has been possible to ski the interlinked valleys using a single ski pass. Courchevel is not one resort village but four distinctly separate ones.
They were renamed in 2011 but are still commonly known by their old names in Courchevel 1850, Courchevel 1650, Courchevel 1550 and Courchevel 1300. The runway of the Altipot was famously used for some of the opening scenes of James Bond, Goldeneye and other than being a favourite from many of the royals; this resort is also a sweet spot for Formula 1 drivers such as Mika Hakkinen.
- Lech Zurs am Arlberg Austria
Everyone from Princess Caroline of Monaco to Tina Turner have been said to holiday at Lech Zurs am Arlberg as the village area is ranked to be one of the top skiing destinations in Europe. In the heart of the Austrian Alps, the range has been known as the "cradle of Alpine skiing" and casts a spell over enthusiastic skiers year after year, winter after winter. Tradition and modernity, identity and innovation are combined harmoniously on the Arlberg.
The two hamlets, Lech and Zurs are separated by a 7 minute road and thanks to a diverse range of ski terrain, large amounts of snowfall, and high-end mountain facilities this area is well suited to all walks of winter sports.
Lech am Arlberg from the air(image coutersy of Florian Lindner under GNU Free Documentation License).