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 While the Best of the Alps resorts must have some characteristics in common to be included in the group, each resort offers its own tradition
and style. These Alpine communities provide travelers not only with great ski slopes, but also history, culture and fantastic cuisine.
TourTheAlps was a project to bring 11 of the world's greatest mountain resorts alive in pictures and words. Available only on the www.tourthealps.com website, fresh content was posted every day starting January 6, 2003 until the tour's completion in mid-February.
The TourTheAlps field team was a group of experienced writers, photographers and professional skiers/snowboarders. The team spent an average of three days in each resort. On the mountain the snowriders explored the resort's best terrain, from groomed slopes to wild backcountry couloirs using the help of local mountain guides. In the evenings they explored the excellent dining, nightlife and other amenities of these exclusive, historical resorts. Each day they recorded their experiences in words and pictures and uploaded them to the tourthealps.com website.
In a splendid location below Mont Blanc, the Alps highest mountain, Chamonix was a pioneer center, first of mountain climbing, later of skiing, and
the location of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Chamonix has several separate ski areas with the most famous being the 12-mile Vallée Blanche
off-trail descent from the Aiguille du Midi along the Mer du Glace glacier
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The history of Cortina d’Ampezzo extends back over a thousand years. In the laid back Italian approach to winter vacations, excellent mountain
rifugi serve regional specialties and vintages for leisurely lunches, and the early evening pedestrian promenade along the boutiques is as important
as the skiing itself. Cortina was host of the Winter Olympics in 1956 and is the eastern end of the vast Dolomiti Superski region
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In double-barreled supremacy, Davos is both the highest altitude resort in Europe (but at 1,560 meters, or 5,070 feet, still modest in North American
terms) and the most extensive ski area ranging over seven mountains. Further "tops" are the high altitude sport training center, and the convention
facility that hosts the renown World Economic Forum. Davos’ origins in sanatoria continue today in highly specialized treatment institutes
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Garmisch-Partenkirchen is where the old and new worlds meet. Garmisch is extremely contemporary while Partenkirchen still holds onto old-world
tradition and charm. Garmisch was the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics, and the resort is very proud of its heritage—both the slopes and the off-trail
facilities have been well maintained in the German tradition
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 Due to movie and television productions, first-time visitors often experience déjà vu. Grindelwald is situated at the base of the snow-capped Eiger,
Mönch, and Jungfrau, some of the most spectacular peaks in the Alps. In addition to Grindelwald’s home area, skiing extends across the Jungfrau
region as far as Wengen. Few visitors can miss the rail trip to the Junfraujoch Top of Europe
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The remnants of ancient walls enclose the pedestrian core of Kitzbühel, a 700-year old mining town. Every January the skiing world focuses on
the Hahnenkamm, said to be the most challenging downhill course on the World Cup circuit. But on the Ski Safari even sturdy intermediates can
accumulate a vast number of vertical feet without duplicating lifts or runs
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Over a hundred years ago, when skiing swept into the Arlberg, no one imagined that Lech, a remote farming village, would become a world famous winter
resort. It’s a cozy, relaxed, high-class village that answers to a demand for great quality while maintaining a traditional approach to everything.
The buildings, events, food, designs, and the friendliness of the area are all original and unchanged in Lech
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Seefeld is situated on a sunny plateau at 1,200 meters (3,900 feet). The resort offers beautiful mountain panoramas and well as traditional Tyrolean
hospitality. Twenty-six lifts carry skiers to the downhill runs and 250 kilometers (94 miles) of cross-country skiing tracks. The resort also
provides a landscaped indoor swimming pool. Seefeld’s 75 restaurants and 80 shops keep visitors busy when they’re not on the slopes
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 St. Anton is known as the cradle of alpine skiing and origin of the Arlberg technique. This traditional Tyrolean village exhibits an international
flair, while offering magnificent Alpine scenery. St. Anton is famous for its après-skiing, often said to be the best in the world. People like
to hang around after a day’s skiing at one of the many on-slope bars and restaurants
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Influenced by three cultures, German, Romansch, and nearby Italian, from the Middle Ages, visitors came to St. Moritz for its healing mineral springs.
In modern time, St. Moritz has been host to the Winter Olympics twice, in 1928 and 1948, and will be the site of 2003 World Championships. It
is renown for its bobsled and toboggan runs, and for innovative on-ice events: golf, cricket, polo, and horse and dog races
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The world-famous panorama of the Matterhorn is the trademark of Zermatt, a car-free pedestrian mountain village with year-round skiing on the glacier
snowfields, the highest in Europe. Strollers browsing in the elegant boutiques along the main street are often surprised to find a working cattle stable
just around the corner
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