22 May 2017
The Best Family Ski Resorts of 2017 revealed in this year's Holidays with Kids Ski & Snowboard Awards
- 2017 HWK Ski & Snowboard Awards reveals the Best Family Ski Resorts in the world as voted by our panel of ski experts
- First awards to name overall Best Family Ski Resorts and feature Readers' Choice categories for each destination
- The 2017 edition of Ski & Snowboard with Kids magazine is out now and on sale in newsagents and via subscriptions
With Australian snow resorts preparing for another thrilling season on the slopes, there's still time to start planning your ski escape. On hand to help is the 2017 edition of Ski & Snowboard with Kids. The Southern Hemisphere's only snow sports publication devoted to families is out now, featuring the fourth annual Holidays with Kids Ski & Snowboard Awards, as voted by our panel of ski experts.
Our judging panel features some of the most well-known names in snow journalism, including Rachael Oakes-Ash (aka Miss Snow It All), Helen Hayes, and Owain Price (Managing Director of 'Snow Action' magazine), alongside respected members of the industry, including Ben Cardenas from Travelplan, Rodney Muller from Skimax, Rachelle Matheson of Mogul Ski World, Marcus Williams from SkiJapan.com, Susan Daniel from Ski Travel Company and Phil Osborn from Snow Travel Expo.
The Best Family Ski Resorts of 2017
Our ski experts awarded honours across a range of categories for Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe, the USA and Canada. For the first time, we then collated, analysed and distilled these scores into an overall Best Family Ski Resort for each destination, as below:
Australia:
1. Thredbo, NSW
2. Falls Creek, VIC
3. Perisher, NSW
4. Mount Hotham, VIC
5. Mt Buller, VIC
New Zealand:
1. Cardrona Alpine Resort, South Island
2. The Remarkables, South Island
3. Treble Cone, South Island
4. Coronet Peak, South Island
=5. Mt Hutt, South Island
=5. Mt Ruapehu, North Island
Japan:
1. Niseko United, Hokkaido
2. Rusutsu, Hokkaido
3. Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, Hokkaido
4. Hakuba, Honshu
=5. Sahoro (Club Med Hokkaido), Hokkaido
=5. Nozawa Onsen, Honshu
Europe:
1. Avoriaz, France
2. Val d'Isère, France
=3. Courchevel, France
=3. St Anton am Arlberg, Austria
=3. LAAX, Switzerland
USA:
1. Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
2. Mammoth, California
3. Telluride, Colorado
4. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
=5. Breckenridge, Colorado
=5. Vail, Colorado
Canada:
1. Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
2. Big White, British Columbia
3. Silver Star, British Columbia
=4. Sun Peaks, British Columbia
=4. Revelstoke, British Columbia
Winners by category
The Best Family Ski Resort title was awarded based on our experts' votes across five categories. The #1-place-getters are outlined below:
Best for Beginners:
Australia: Thredbo, NSW
New Zealand: Cardrona, South Island
Japan: Sahoro (Club Med Hokkaido), Hokkaido
Europe: Courchevel, France
USA: Aspen Snowmass (Snowmass & Buttermilk), Colorado
Canada: Silver Star, British Columbia
Best for Advanced Families:
Australia: Mount Hotham, VIC
New Zealand: Treble Cone, South Island
Japan: Rusutsu, Hokkaido
Europe: St Anton am Arlberg, Austria
USA: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Canada: Revelstoke, British Columbia
Best for All-Round Family Activities:
Australia: Falls Creek, VIC
New Zealand: n/a
Japan: Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, Hokkaido
Europe: =Avoriaz, France + Wengen, Switzerland + Grindelwald, Switzerland
USA: Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
Canada: Big White, British Columbia
Best Village Location & Atmosphere:
Australia: Thredbo, NSW
New Zealand: Queenstown, South Island
Japan: Nozawa Onsen, Honshu
Europe: Val d'Isère, France
USA: Aspen, Colorado
Canada: Whistler, British Columbia
Best Freestyle Resort:
Australia: Perisher, NSW
New Zealand: Cardrona, South Island
Japan: Niseko United, Hokkaido
Europe: LAAX, Switzerland
USA: Mammoth Mountain, California
Canada: Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
A full rundown of all the winning resorts is available online at www.skiandsnowboardwithkids.com.au
Readers' Choice
After introducing Readers' Choice awards last year, the increase in votes meant the Readers' Choice categories expanded to encompass each of the six main ski destinations: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe, USA and Canada.
Australia
1. Falls Creek, VIC
2. Perisher, NSW
=3. Thredbo, NSW
=3. Mount Baw Baw, VIC
New Zealand
1. Cardrona, South Island
2. The Remarkables, South Island
=3. Coronet Peak, South Island
=3. Mt Hutt, South Island
Japan
1. Niseko United, Hokkaido
2. Sahoro (Club Med Hokkaido), Hokkaido
3. Hakuba, Honshu
Europe
=1. Val d'Isère, France
=1. Kitzbühel, Austria
2. St Moritz, Switzerland
3. Innsbruck-Olympia SkiWorld, Austria
USA
1. Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
=2. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
=2. Mammoth Mountain, California
=3. Deer Valley, Utah
=3. Vail, Colorado
Canada
1. Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
2. Sun Peaks, British Columbia
=3. Silver Star, British Columbia
=3. Big White, British Columbia
About Ski & Snowboard with Kids
Ski & Snowboard with Kids magazine continues to be a family's leading guide for all things snow, from beginners discovering its wonders for the first time or kids with a penchant for speed. As well as Aussie favourites, we discover the best family-friendly resorts of Japan, the US, Canada and Europe. We also keep readers up to date on the latest gear and technology, and share what readers can do off the snow.
Ski & Snowboard with Kids is produced annually, and is sold with the winter edition of Holidays with Kids magazine, Australia's highest circulating family travel publication, with a print and online audience of 600,000 travel-loving parents.
Holidays with Kids is Australia's authority on family travel and is one of Australia's highest-circulating and most-established travel magazines. It is produced in Sydney by Signature Media, Australia's leading independent publisher of travel titles.
Media enquiries: Cathy Wagstaff, Publisher & Managing Editor: +61 2 9406 4400, info@signaturemedia.com.au
