Ski Here! - Other Global Spots
Africa
XC Skiing in Africa?!
Yes indeed, many of the high plateaus and peaks throughout the African continent hold sufficient snow for touring...providing you can get there of course. There is also occasional groomed skiing (!) in the mountains of South Africa during the Southern Hemisphere winter (July-August).
Antarctica
Plenty of snow but we've yet to hear of groomed trails. The upshot is you are looking at easy kick waxing conditions most of the time...anyone got any secrets for 100 below farenheit?
Asia
Both Japan and Korea have excellent opportunities for XC Skiing both on and off groomed trails. The Muju-Chonju region of Korea hosted the 1997 Winter World University Games while Nagano, Japan hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics. Snow seasons are comparable to North America roughly running from December-March.
In Japan, if you are going to be in and around Tokyo (mid-country) we recommend going up to the Hakuba/Nagano region and you'll be able to find some pretty nice XC spots. The Olympic trails may or may not be open to the public (they are wicked hard for recreational skiing so be warned) but the entire Hakuba area has snow cover and there were several "other" trails we saw groomed in the area...plenty of places to tour and backcountry although please check with folks first on local property restrictions, etc.. You can bullet train to Nagano quite easily.
Up on the north island, the Sapporo region has plenty of XC options with an annual Worldloppet race held there every February. There are other citizen race events (mostly February and March) a bit north of Sapporo and snow quality/reliability is reasonably good each season.
Since 2003 China has hosted their very own Vasaloppet event (January 2, 2010) outside Changchun City, Jilin Province featuring a 50km classic race, 16.7 Blueberry Vasa, 2.5km Fun ski, plus students and children's events. Up to 10,000 participants are taking part arguably making this the largest XC ski event outside Europe in the XC world. Professional skiers from Europe, North American plus the China National Ski Team regularly boost the elite field. In addition, the Vasaloppet China has been serving as the classic stage for Tour de Ski China skiers since 2008. Tour de Ski is organized by FIS, Chinese Ski association and Nordic Ways China and is a series of professional, mostly sprint, stages around China (mostly in the north). Last years winner of TDS and Vasaloppet China 50km was Anders Hogberg, SWE. In 2010, an XC race for disabled, Ridderrennet China will be held on Jan 1 in connection with Vasaloppet China.
Currently we do not have any specific information on groomed XC opportunities in China, Mongolia, Siberia or the Himalayas (ample snow would NOT be a problem...particularly above 29,000 feet/8000 meters!) but we would be happy to pass along any information readers may have.
Australia
Many folks in the Western Hemisphere are plenty suprised to learn that they have snow Down Under. Fear not, XC is very much available in Oz (and it's Kiwi neighbor). Due to latitude, the snow region in Australia is not overly large and is thus limited to a chunk of the southeastern corner of the continent-- Victoria and southern New South Wales. Several mountain/ridgetop XC Centers offer excellent groomed trails but off-track touring in Oz is some of the best anywhere--even on race skis just after a storm! You can also find reliable skiing on Tazmania although the season is shorter than on the mainland. Plenty of races and other tour events are held annually including the Kangaroo Hoppet (World Loppet Marathon). Reliable snow runs from late June through early September.
Iceland
Fresh snow groomed skiing, backcountry and glacier skiing are all available on this Scandinavian island nation.
New Zealand
Wairou Nordic Centre on the South Island midway between Queenstown and Wanaka offers 30-40 kilometers of groomed trails many featuring some of the best views of any ski area in the world. Limitless touring is available in the Southern Alps and also on the North Island's tempermental Ruapehu volcano.
South America
A couple spots in the Andes offer limited groomed trails in both Argentina and Chile. The operative phrase in this region is "high altitude" with base elevations of Alpine areas starting over 8000 ft.
If you want to go really far south, Tierra del Fuego -- the island off the southern tip of Argentina -- offers over 100 kilometers of groomed trails, many opportunities for backcountry skiing, several skiing venues, a major August race (la Marcha Blanca), and relatively convenient air connections via the "southernmost city in the world"...Ushuaia. As with the South Pacific, South American winters typically have the best snow from late July to early September. American XC Skiers recommends contacting the good folks at skifire.com summer snow tour service if you are interested in heading to Tierra del Fuego.
The tourism association in Ushuaia has a basic info website with some incredible pictures. Visit here.
You can also find out much more by visiting Mathew Muir's look at XC in Argentina...exclusive to xcskiworld.com!
