The Ultimate Guide to Gay Ski Weeks Around the World, From Aspen to New Zealand – Condé Nast Traveler
“It’s a whole vibe,” said Eric Bogin, a skier from Los Angeles who has attended Mammoth Gay Ski Week multiple times. “When you’re at Mammoth, you really feel like we’re taking over the whole village—there are rainbow flags everywhere, people are having fun, it’s great.” Put on by gay party production company Elevation for over twenty years, Mammoth Gay Ski Week attracts a large Southern California contingent (in part because it’s pretty tedious to get there from the East Coast). “I’ve produced [Elevation Ski Week: Mammoth] for 20 years because it gives me so much in return,” said the founder Tom Whitman. “I have made lifelong friends every year at Elevation. The event has become a reunion of old friends bringing new friends to the party.”
Elevation Ski Week: Utah
Park City, Utah, USA
Ask any regular attendee who has visited Elevation’s ski weeks in both Mammoth, California and Park City, Utah, and they may be more inclined to say that Utah is marginally more about the skiing. There will also be a much more geographically diverse crowd because Salt Lake City is so much more accessible to destinations across the country. There’s still a robust roster of parties and events throughout the week—this is, after all, a destination that’s really made for festivals such as Sundance.
Aspen Gay Ski Week
Aspen, Colorado, USA
The alpha and the omega of gay ski weeks, Aspen Gay Ski Week has been running for over forty-five years, and grew out of those casual gatherings that began in the 1970’s. Of course, this being Aspen, the terrain is excellent—but you’ll pay for it, as well, getting in and out of town can be challenging if a winter storm is brewing. Aspen Gay Ski Week is also the annual fundraising event for AspenOUT, a non-profit community organization that provides support and services to LGBTQ+ people across the Aspen valley.
Telluride Gay Ski Week
Telluride, Colorado, USA
If Aspen is the OG of gay ski weeks, then Telluride is the up-and-comer. It’s flown under the radar for the last couple of years, but, new for 2023, the party is now under the ownership of SBG Productions, the same organization which produces Telluride’s incredibly popular Blues & Brews and Jazz Festivals. The town’s natural beauty and rugged landscape is unmatched. And if you’re a fan of Olympic freestyle skier and Telluride local Gus Kenworthy, you may want to add this gay ski week to your itinerary—rumor has it he makes an unofficial appearance most years.
Arosa Gay Ski Week
Arosa, Switzerland
If you aren’t familiar with the idyllic Swiss village of Arosa, then get with the program—while it doesn’t offer the most thrilling terrain relative to the rest of the Alps, it’s large enough to explore over multiple days, is easily connected via tram to the neighboring village of Lenzerheide, and is easily accessed via a two-hour train from the Zürich airport. The resort maintains groomed walking trails so even non-skiers can explore the mountain.
Plus, with only about six hundred attendees, it has a much more intimate atmosphere than some of the larger, longer-running gay ski weeks.