For some, skiing is about adrenaline: steep lines, untouched powder, and racing the clock. But for others, the true magic lies in the views—the moments where you carve turns while surrounded by landscapes so breathtaking, they feel painted onto the horizon.
Across the Alps and Rockies, a handful of runs stand out not just for their snow or difficulty, but for their beauty. These are the pistes where you stop mid-turn, not from fatigue, but because the view demands it.
Here are the five most scenic ski runs in the world.
Vallée Blanche – Chamonix, France
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Length: 20 km off-piste descent
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Vertical drop: 2,700 m
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Access: Aiguille du Midi cable car (3,842 m)
The Vallée Blanche is less a ski run than an alpine odyssey. Starting from the Aiguille du Midi—accessible only by a vertigo-inducing ridge walk—it plunges 20 kilometres down glaciers and seracs with Mont Blanc towering above.
The descent isn’t marked, groomed, or patrolled: it requires a guide, mountaineering awareness, and good nerves. But few experiences on skis can match weaving through ancient icefields, surrounded by jagged peaks, with the whole of the Alps unfolding around you.
It’s the definition of skiing as adventure.
La Face de Bellevarde – Val d’Isère, France
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Length: 3 km (Olympic downhill course)
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Vertical drop: 959 m
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Access: Bellevarde Express Gondola
La Face is legendary. Built for the 1992 Albertville Olympics, this steep black run drops almost a kilometre in vertical, framed by sweeping views of Val d’Isère and the Tarentaise Valley.
It’s not just the gradient that makes it memorable—it’s the way it snakes through open pitches and plunges into narrow sections, all under the watchful eye of surrounding alpine peaks. Skiers often pause halfway, not just to catch their breath, but to take in the panorama of the Haute Tarentaise.
At sunset, with the village lights flickering below, La Face transforms into one of the most dramatic descents in Europe.
Streif – Kitzbühel, Austria
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Length: 3.3 km
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Vertical drop: 860 m
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Access: Hahnenkamm gondola
The Streif is the most famous downhill course in the world. Each January, the Hahnenkamm race transforms it into a theatre of speed, where racers reach over 140 km/h on a course riddled with blind jumps and near-vertical pitches.
But away from race day, when tackled by expert skiers at their own pace, the Streif offers something different: a rollercoaster through Tyrolean scenery. Pine forests, mountain villages, and the pastel-coloured old town of Kitzbühel spread below, with the Wilder Kaiser range dominating the skyline.
It’s beauty mixed with brutality—a run that tests your legs as much as it rewards your eyes.
Parsenn – Davos, Switzerland
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Length: 12 km (Weissfluhjoch to Küblis)
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Vertical drop: 2,034 m
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Access: Parsenn funicular from Davos
The Parsenn descent is skiing’s answer to a grand tour. Beginning high above Davos on the Weissfluhjoch ridge, it winds down a staggering 12 kilometres, dropping over 2,000 metres before finishing in the valley village of Küblis.
Along the way, the scenery shifts like a slideshow: wide-open alpine bowls give way to tree-lined pistes, before opening again onto sweeping valley views. Traditional chalets dot the route, offering a chance to stop for rösti or fondue with a view.
It’s not the steepest or hardest run in the world, but few capture the romance of alpine skiing as well as Parsenn.
Highlands Bowl – Aspen Highlands, USA
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Length: ~5 km (depending on chosen line)
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Vertical drop: 1,219 m
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Access: Snowcat + 30–60 min hike to the summit (3,777 m)
Highlands Bowl is Aspen’s crown jewel: a natural amphitheatre of powder lines and ridges that descend beneath the endless sky of Colorado’s Rockies. The adventure begins with a snowcat ride, followed by a ridge hike that leaves you breathless—not just from the altitude, but from the view.
From the 3,777-metre summit, the panorama stretches across the Elk Mountains, with Pyramid Peak and the Maroon Bells standing like sentinels. The descent itself is whatever you make it: steep chutes, wide bowls, or powder-filled gullies, each framed by Rocky Mountain grandeur.
It’s skiing in its purest, most awe-inspiring form.
The Final Descent
From Chamonix’s glaciers to Aspen’s bowls, these runs remind us that skiing is not just about speed or vertical metres—it’s about immersion in landscapes few will ever see. Whether you’re carving beneath Mont Blanc, racing down the Streif, or gliding into a Swiss valley, these five descents prove that the world’s most scenic ski runs are as much about perspective as performance.