Ski reports and reviews
FT Ski Overview
FT.com/sport's ski site brings you the latest reports and resort reviews by FT writers, plus news from around the leading ski centres of the world.
United States
Western ghost resorts
Stagecoach was the largest of about 137 Colorado resorts, jumps, lifts and rope tows to disappear over the years - victims of competition, scanty snowfall and lack of snowmaking, or just poor business decisions. And yet like many others, it has not really disappeared.
Canada
Knockout at Kicking Horse
High above the Columbia River, in British Columbia's Dogtooth Mountains, Arnie Wilson launches himself down a magnificent bowl, with a pitch of about 35 to 40 degrees, into fresh powder and a scattering of small spruce saplings.
China
Great leap forward
Skiing in China is about to come of age, or at least to be born again, for it was in China that some of the most ancient specimens of primitive skis were discovered, dating back to around 2,500BC.
Japan
Among ice monsters
Arnie Wilson had broken the golden rule of Japanese ski resorts: don't ski off piste. And equally important, don't take your instructor off piste either in case he loses his job.
Salt Lake
Olympic gold lies in silver land
The Olympians in search of gold will gather in Salt Lake City in February accompanied by massive security precautions.
Online bookings
All tangled up in the net
A search for "cheap flights" throws up dozens of websites. And things worked out for Peter Millar successfully and cheaply. But with a sting in the tail.
Flights
Ample pickings for low-cost lines
While Virgin Atlantic and British Airways pull in their horns, Go, Buzz, EasyJet and Ryanair have been quick to announce new routes, fare cuts and even bids for some of the bigger players' slots.
Euro and Americas update
Made to measure
Regular FT ski writer John Westbrooke provides a wealth of tips for the season.
France
Need to correct downhill slide
For almost three decades in alpine skiing, the French have watched smaller winter sports nations dominate, in particular the Swiss in the 1980s and the Austrians since.
Utah
The life of Brian
Sooner or later the knowledge that there is a ski resort called Brian provokes an irresistible urge to ski it. No one is sure how or why it got its name. Or who Brian was.
Chamonix
Saudi on the slopes
On the vast, snow-covered moraine of Argentiere's Grands Montets, Bandar Bin Khaled Al-Faisal Bin Abdulazziz, tore about leaving Arnie Wilson in his slipstream.
Finnish Lapland
Hitting the high spots
Much as I enjoy skiing Bichlalm, Austria, Mount Lacrosse, Wisconsin, or Porter Heights, New Zealand, there is little danger of losing your bearings, writes Arnie Wilson. But Finnish Lapland presents a challenge.
Montana
Big Mountain flaunts its charm
Arnie Wilson can vouch for the fact that Big Mountain, just across the border from the Canadian Rockies in north-western Montana, is exhilarating.
Andermatt
Turning back the Swiss clock
Arnie Wilson returned to Hospental, a village near the Swiss resort of Andermatt but scarcely recognised a single feature, although the same old T-bar which he had recklessly ridden to the top of the mountain just below the Winterhorn, seemed to be still in situ.
Boarding
'Outlaws' no longer repelled
Who would have thought there could be such a palaver about people being allowed to slide down Aspen's most venerated mountain on one board instead of two?
Whistler
Meet my friend Speed and his companion Pain
Whistler and neighbouring Blackcomb's reputation for steep-and-deep slopes, with a network of challenging couloirs and bowls, attracts snowboarders from around the world.
With the kids
Thin line from danger
We take the kids halfway up a mountain and tell them to have no fear as we give them a smart shove downhill. We tell them that this is called skiing and urge them to experience the thrill.
Chalets
Top ten for the winter break
This winter, more than ever, there is a superb choice of top chalets in top resorts across the world. The quality of both staff and accommodation has been rising markedly.