A winter holiday is a rare treat for many of us, so used as we are to the quintessential sun-and-sea getaways promised by the summer. But there’s a new set of winter holiday-making trends on the horizon this year, as more of us switch on to the potential offered by leaning into the coldest months.
The ski holiday is to winter what beach holidays are to summer – but can also be so much more. If you’re thinking about taking a plunge down a semi-scary ski slope somewhere, you might be looking for that final push; here, you’ve found it.
Because guess what? Skiing is a very photogenic pursuit indeed. And a great many amazing ski destinations have found their way thrillingly onto the silver screen. What better way to enjoy your winter than following in some famous footsteps?
Alpine Action
To start, why don’t we go to the most iconic mountain range on the planet? The Alps are home, of course, to the tallest mountain on Earth – Mt. Everest, if you’ve been living under an especially heavy rock. But that’s not the only accolade. They are also extremely popular as a destination for cheap ski holidays, by virtue of spanning eight countries and offering countless amazing slopes.
And across those eight countries and myriad slopes, a cornucopia of cinema features. Live your inner Bond – James Bond – with a trip to any one of the SIX different locations at which the titular spy has skied. For this author, Roger Moore’s stint down a slope in St Moritz, in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, would have to take it.
Hollywood & Ski Slopes: North American Film-Set Resorts
If you’ve a mind to travel a little farther than Europe’s mainland, then you might cast a glance across the pond to the good old US of A – the de facto home of cinema as we know it, and home to a great many ski-friendly locations for domestically-shot pieces-de-resistance.
The Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah is perhaps one of the most-featured examples, being a place where you can ski the same paths taken by The Grinch, Jeremiah Johnson and Lloyd and Harry of Dumb and Dumber fame!
Romance & Comedies on the Snow
For a lighter touch, we’re heading straight back to the Alps – for two locations that featured prominently in upbeat rom-coms you and your partner are sure to accidentally recreate! Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason filmed in Lech am Arlberg in Austria, the slopes being a perfect foil for Renee Zellweger’s novice pratfalls; likewise, in nearby St Anton am Arlberg, British rom-com and Felicity Jones vehicle Chalet Girl was filmed.
You don’t need to be a silver screen fiend to enjoy a good skiing holiday, but sometimes it helps – and with a semi-recognisable landscape at your feet, maybe you’ll feel a little more suave about your first ski attempts!