Rocky Mountains vs. the Alps

The Rocky Mountains in North America and the Alps in Europe are considered the top ski regions on their respective continents. In recent years, however, there has been a growing trend in tourism in both directions. Previously, tourists from the USA or Canada would typically head to the Rocky Mountains, while Europeans booked their ski holidays in the Alps. It is hardly surprising that the main direction of travel in this context was influenced primarily by the current exchange rate of the dollar.

Accordingly, holidays in the USA are currently very appealing to Europeans because they are particularly affordable, as the dollar is still weaker than the euro. The Rocky Mountains in the USA and Canada also offer a number of other advantages over the Alps in Central Europe. Quite a few ski tourists who have already experienced both winter sports regions—the Rocky Mountains and the Alps—consider the service in the USA even better than the undisputedly excellent service in the Alps. In addition, the Rocky Mountains are nowhere near as busy as the Alps, so the slopes in North America are generally much less crowded.

While the two advantages of the Rocky Mountains mentioned so far are more or less matters of subjective opinion, the greater snow reliability—and thus the third major advantage—is a meteorological fact. A ski holiday in the Rocky Mountains can also be combined wonderfully with a beach holiday or another type of vacation in the USA or Canada, making the entire trip even more affordable.