There are some who are wistful that Boston experienced record warmth this winter and total snowfall no greater than the length of an over-grown zucchini. These folks tend to be skiers, snowboarders, skaters, outdoor enthusiasts, and a lot of school children who didn’t finish their homework when a predicted January blizzard fizzled as it neared Boston.
There’s another snow-craving group that I classify simply as winter weirdos. Folks who wait all year to optimize their Canada Goose jackets and REI long underwear while hitting refresh over and over on Weather.com looking for the mythical word “nor’easter’’ to appear.
I don’t fall into any of these categories, unless we created one called “man who skates like a baby giraffe trying to stand up for the first time,’’ so I’m not particularly melancholy that winter was a no-show. But I have sympathy for all you outdoorsy types and winter weirdos. Our region may have gotten the short end of the measuring stick, but with a plane ticket, a few hours, and several hundred dollars (or more), you can embrace the winter that stood you up like a bad Tinder date. Here’s our top picks of unique places where you can still find snow on the ground and a chill in the air.
France
Thanks to its elevation, many ski resorts in the French Alps stay open through May. Val Thorens, (www.valthonet.com) in the Tarentaise Valley is Europe’s highest resort. It usually operates well into spring and offers skiing and snowboarding. But there are alternatives for those who don’t enjoy traveling at high speeds down hills with nothing but slabs of fiberglass, Kevlar, or carbon fiber strapped to their feet. There’s a paragliding school, something called ice driving, and outdoor yoga, because who doesn’t love a little snow in their yoga pants first thing in the morning? For those who are genuinely risk-averse, there’s indoor bowling. About two hours away, the town of Chamonix (www.chamonix .com) offers late spring skiing and snowboarding, but you can also try the year-round luge-alpine coaster that whisks riders down the mountain safely strapped into a cart on rails.
Iceland
No surprise that winter conditions in Iceland stretch well into spring. Despite the increasingly late sunsets, the wind off the water has the strength and tenacity to leave your cheeks deep red and your nose persistently dripping. In the northeastern town of Akureyri, the Iceland Winter Games (www.icelandwintergames.com) collects everything that is fun about living in an icebox and presents it in a tidy package. The annual games have the kinds of things you associate with winter sport, such as freeskiing and snowboard competitions. But the games also include the Icelandic National Dog Sledding Championship, Arctic horseback riding, and snowmobile competitions. It runs from March 24 to April 3.
Japan
If you miss last winter’s record-breaking Boston snow accumulation, there are mountainous regions in Japan so loaded with snow that you’ll weep at the sight of them. The snow accumulation on Mount Gassan is so immense that the ski season doesn’t begin until mid-April and runs through July. The famous “snow corridor’’ of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (www.alpen-route.com) is a road and pedestrian path that winds through 65 foot high walls of snow. This year the pedestrian corridor is open April 16 to June 22. You can also enjoy the menacing-looking snow drifts by bus or cable car. The route stretches 23 miles on a mountain that reaches an altitude of over 8,000 feet (by comparison the altitude of Mount Washington is 6,289 feet).
Norway
You can find enough snow in Geilo, Norway, to ski until late April (and head north from there for May skiing). It’s easy to reach by rail from either Bergen or Oslo. It’s also a popular spot for kiting, which means you strap on your skis or board, hold on to a massive kite for dear life, and hope for the best as the wind carries you along. Slightly less risky is snow rafting (which is like communal tubing), tobogganing, and snowmobiling. It’s eerily quiet skiing off-season in Geilo. In April there is no last minute rush of skiers or boarders, just wide paths of white.
New Zealand
Yes, it’s cheating to suggest heading to the Southern Hemisphere to find snow in spring and summer, but there are areas of New Zealand where you can hike and gaze at snow-capped mountains and glaciers from afar, or, if you must, walk directly through. However, sometimes the best way to enjoy the snow is from a scenic distance. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Parkin the Canterbury Region has walks and hikes that range from 30 minutes to two-to-three days. You can get fancy and take a helicopter or ski plane to survey the Tasman Glacier, or you can follow the advice Depeche Mode once offered and enjoy the silence (and the view) at the International Dark Sky Reserve, stargazing in what the country humbly calls “the darkest skies in the world.’’
Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com.
