A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North America, it is more common for ski areas to exist well away from towns, so ski resorts usually are destination resorts, often purpose-built and self-contained, where skiing is the main activity.
Ski resorts are located on both Northern and Southern Hemispheres on all continents except Antarctica. They typically are located on mountains, as they require a large slope. They also need to receive sufficient snow (at least in combination with artificial snowmaking, unless the resort uses dry ski slopes).
High concentrations of ski resorts are located in the Alps, Scandinavia, western and eastern North America, and Japan. There are also ski resorts in the Andes, scattered across central Asia, and in Australia and New Zealand.
Extreme locations of non-indoor (at least one ski lift outside) ski resorts include:
The most northern ski resort near Tromsø, Norway
The most southern ski resort near Ushuaia, Argentina
The ski resort closest to the equator from north, near Lijiang, China.
The ski resort closest to the equator from south, near Mahlasela, Lesotho.
The ski industry has identified advancing generations of ski resorts:
First generation Developed around a well-established summer resort or village (e.g. Davos, St. Moritz, Kitzbühel, Chamonix, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Megève, Val Gardena).
Second generation Created from a non-tourist village or pasture (e.g. St Anton, Lech, Courchevel, L'Alpe d'Huez, Aspen, Breckenridge).
Third generation or integrated Designed from scratch on virgin territory to be a purpose-built ski resort, all the amenities and services nearby (e.g. Sestriere, Flaine, La Plagne, Isola 2000).
Fourth generation or village resorts Created from virgin territory or around an existing village, but more concerned with traditional uses (e.g. Valmeinier, Valmorel, Shahdag Mountain Resort).