Best Ski Resorts in Russia

Russia has 166 ski areas with 713 km of mapped downhill runs and 529 lifts. That puts it #13 of 73 skiing countries by number of resorts and #13 by kilometres of slopes, with 1.4% of all mapped slopes in the world. The average ski area has about 7.3 km of runs.

Biggest ski resorts in Russia

The largest ski areas are Роза Хутор (90 km), Шерегеш (65 km), Манжерок (Manzherok) (56 km), Газпром (37 km) and Большой Вудъявр (31 km). Together these 5 hold 39% of the country's slopes. By size, 3 resorts have 50 km or more of runs, 13 mid-sized areas have 10–50 km and 150 smaller ski hills have under 10 km — most skiing here happens on local hills close to towns.

Slopes and difficulty

Across all resorts, 53% of the slopes are beginner or easy, 35% intermediate and 13% advanced or expert — a friendly mix for beginners and families. Cross-country skiers will find 366 km of nordic trails.

Where to ski in Russia

The highest skiing is at Эльбрус, up to 3,841 m, followed by Домбай (3,142 m). The longest vertical drop — 1,584 m — is at Альпика-Сервис. Most slopes are in Krasnodar (4 areas, 158 km), Kemerovo (4 areas, 75 km) and Gorno-Altay (1 areas, 56 km).