European Gay Ski Week Review | Out on the Piste

Contents:

• THE ULTIMATE GUI TO GAY SKI WEEKS AROUND THE WORLD
• GAY SKI WEEKS: COLOR THE SLOP
• THE 10 BT GAY SKIG VATNS
• OUT ON THE PISTE | WHAT REALLY HAPPENS AT EUROPEAN GAY SKI WEEK
• INTERNATNAL GAY SKI CALENDAR 2020
• EUROPE’S GAY SKI WEEK SET TO LAND AVORIAZ THIS SEASON

THE ULTIMATE GUI TO GAY SKI WEEKS AROUND THE WORLD

In those tim, the events were not much more than a sual get together over some après-ski beers, gay ski weeks over time veloped to more flhed-out happengs wh full-blown parti, drag shows, edy nights, live mic, and charable fundraisg ponents. Miguel Mendoza/ElevatnElevatn Ski Week: MammothMammoth, California, USA“It’s a whole vibe, ” said Eric Bog, a skier om Los Angel who has attend Mammoth Gay Ski Week multiple tim. ” Put on by gay party productn pany Elevatn for over twenty years, Mammoth Gay Ski Week attracts a large Southern California ntgent ( part bee ’s pretty ted to get there om the East Coast).

Karsten Wegeart/UnsplashAspen Gay Ski WeekAspen, Colorado, USAThe alpha and the omega of gay ski weeks, Aspen Gay Ski Week has been nng for over forty-five years, and grew out of those sual gathergs that began the 1970’s. Aspen Gay Ski Week is also the annual fundraisg event for AspenOUT, a non-prof muny anizatn that provis support and servic to LGBTQ+ people across the Aspen valley.

And if you’re a fan of Olympic etyle skier and Telluri lol G Kenworthy, you may want to add this gay ski week to your erary—mor has he mak an unofficial appearance most years. Arosa Gay Ski WeekArosa, SwzerlandIf you aren’t faiar wh the idyllic Swiss village of Arosa, then get wh the program—while don’t offer the most thrillg terra relative to the rt of the Alps, ’s large enough to explore over multiple days, is easily nnected via tram to the neighborg village of Lenzerhei, and is easily accsed via a two-hour tra om the Zürich airport. Leo Mens/UnsplashGay Ski Week HakubaHakuba, JapanJapan’s legendary powr dumps and rich après-ski culture (onsen dip then steamg hot ramen, anyone?

GAY SKI WEEKS: COLOR THE SLOP

Ntled high the French Alps and wh over 1, 000 participants each year, Europe’s largt gay ski week has bee somethg of an stutn—’s even sponsored by the gay datg app, Scff. Après-ski ssns and eveng parti are a particular strength for this gay ski week, which attracts a roster of top ejays and drag queens to keep the party gog late to the Pri QueenstownQueenstown, New ZealandSki season only to an end if you let .

Jt as the year's closg parti mark the end of summer; wter is soon upon aga brgg wh s own host of gay annual events – namely an ternatnal array of gay ski weeks. Aspen Gay Ski Week is a ski week held January for a good e: raisg money for AspenOUT – a non-prof anisatn seekg to promote anti-bullyg policy and tolerance throughout the USA.

THE 10 BT GAY SKIG VATNS

The Tigu Val Claret transforms self to a thrivg gay village for the week and ss a nvenient few mut’ walk om a vast lagoon – ial to swim and fact the se of the week's crowng jewel event: a giant pool party. Atria has rapidly bee an extremely liberal untry wh gay marriage beg legalized 2019 and the electn of their first openly lbian mister to ernment. Every March the gays scend upon the town of Mammoth Lak up the Sierra mountas California, for the Elevatn Mammoth Gay Ski Week – a five-day high-class skig event.

The event is part of the largt seri of gay ski weeks the world – the others beg Utah and Tremblant – and draws over 2,500 participants annually.

Rassurez-vo, me chaque année puis nf ans, l’European Gay Ski Week (ou EGSW pour l tim) ra menu quoi vo faire oublier votre mélanlie hivernale. In March next year the gang om European Gay Ski Week are celebratg a of amazg events wh what promis to be their biggt and bt gay ski holiday so far.

OUT ON THE PISTE | WHAT REALLY HAPPENS AT EUROPEAN GAY SKI WEEK

Turng a small mounta hamlet to a gay village creat an amazg atmosphere, which is credibly social, and everyone n bond over the shared tert of skig. This year we’re exced to announce, alongsi a whole host of other major European clubbg brands, one of the USA’s biggt gay event brands, Masterbeat. When prented wh the opportuny to make this our realy at European Gay Ski Week – m the fur, dreads and rcug H om angry dwarv – we jumped at the chance.

INTERNATNAL GAY SKI CALENDAR 2020

European Gay Ski Week offer a fantastic range of activi, both to ease you to the experience and to help acquat you wh the iends you’ll be soon to make, and meetg our hot French ski stctor on the first day of ski school was a sure sign of a great week ahead.

EUROPE’S GAY SKI WEEK SET TO LAND AVORIAZ THIS SEASON

One thg that the people at European Gay Ski Week know how to do is throw a party and every night you are offered the chance to hear fantastic DJs actn, see tremendo baret and be immersed a top notch nightlife this picturque wter wonrland. An achievement we ma sure to tell everyone we’d met that week at the fal afternoon Après-ski, where everyone ngregated for one last snowy hurrah before all makg our way down the mounta one homogeno mass of half cut gays, skig and boardg harmony.

Our time at European Gay Ski Week over, numbers exchanged, new iends ma, rented ski boots returned and our wter wardrobe packed away, we realised this is somethg we’d love to do aga. Over the past four s, a quiet revolutn has begun, spired by Aspen’s Gay Ski Week 1977, and big-name mounta rorts around the world now pete to host gay ski weeks, om Whistler to Utah, Atria to France and Swzerland to New Zealand. Whistler’s WterPRIDE is the longt-nng event the rort’s lendar, attractg 3, 000 gay and lbian wter holidaymakers and generatg C$9m (£5m) for the Brish Columbia enomy.

European Gay Ski Week reports that s 1, 000 atten spend 30 per cent more per head than average holidaymakers to Alpe d’Huez, while Söln’s Gay Snow Happeng is smaller, attractg around 600 gay holidaymakers, but still draws €1m to the rort. Jim Gutt, spokperson for Aspen Gay Ski Week (), a not-for-prof event that attracts five thoand people each year, says: “The mounta rints see the benefs, om promotg tolerance to the enomic impact.

Aspen, s rints and holidaymakers are extremely supportive of the event, as evinced by the rabow flags hangg om every lamp-post and the spectators – heterosexual and homosexual – that attend events like our Downhill Costume Contt.

Kev Mills, head of Pure Organisatn which operat European Gay Ski Week Alpe d’Huez, explas: “While ’s great that the world is far more acceptg of the LGBT muny, not everywhere you go to is guaranteed to be like this. He said: “Gay ski weeks provi an opportuny for like-md people wh siar terts, but who are often om often far-flung plac, to get together and enjoy their sport, meet new iends and have some fun.

Contrary to some perceptns of gay ski weeks as mounta “gay ghettos", Evans says ’s the clive LGBT-iendly but not exclive nature of the events that are so attractive. Most gay ski weeks are lighted to wele straight alli, who sometim acpany LGBT atten, pecially durg the ee on-mounta guidg programm that many gay ski weeks provi.

Asi om the outlandish, dazzlg on-mounta stum, one thg is a given: gay ski weeks sure know how to party, on-mounta and off: there are pool parti, edy and burlque shows, we tastgs and top club brands and DJ talent.

1 Gay Wter Sports and Mic Ftival, will be hosted for the first time LES MENUIRES, the heart of the biggt ski area the world, om March 18th to 25th 2017. European Gay Ski Week is the first choice for gay people om all over the world who want to experience the perfect Wter Holiday a iendly and welg environment. The centre of the rort is transformed to a gay wter wonrland wh drag queens and gogo boys on a huge stage alongsi DJs spng all the glor dance and ro pop you uld hope for.

Some of the more memorable parti clud the Pool Party the water park (which my partner dubbed ‘Gay Soup’), and the Eroti party which was populated by men harns, jockstraps and balaclavas. European Gay Ski Week was born out of Man Mounta 'The European Gay Ski and Party Week' first anised 2007 Soln, created by Kev Mills, former director of world-famo London Gay night club Heaven and head of Pure Organisatn. Now at s 16th Edn, European Gay Ski Week is the biggt and only roamg queer wter sports and mic ftival packed wh baret, edy and parti om a selectn of the bt clubs, DJs and performers om Europe and the world.

The Pure Organisatn striv to provi at the European Gay Ski Week the opportuny to not only enjoy queer-specific spac, but offer an LGBTQ+ clive way to get outdoors be active and enjoy wter sports betiful mounta settgs. Wh hundreds of guts g om all over Europe and North Ameri and beyond, we n proudly say that European Snow Pri has now bee one of the most popular gay ski weeks worldwi. You will enjoy all kds of events and of magic moments on top of the skig, such as après-skis, DJ parti, Cabaret evengs, Raclette and Fondue evengs, a Wilrns Cam eveng (toboggan ri followed by a barbecue dner a yurt), a gay film ftival and even a gay pri!