OK, so there is not a lot of skiing in London, and the Shard is way too steep for even the most accomplished freerider. In East London, there used to be the Beckton Alps, and I spent many visits to that now defunct venue, but it wasn't like the real thing. The UK does have some excellent slopes, in Scotland, but they are not particularly convenient for London, or for most of Scotland for that matter. And the weather is very unpredictable. If you're there in winter, have wheels, and the weather looks good, I highly recommend trying out Cairngorm, Nevis or Glenshee.
But you CAN ski out of London - albeit it is a stretch for a day trip (but not impossible). The main options are to take the Eurostar overnight service to France and Switzerland or fly into a convenient airport - Zurich is probably the best. You can also take the day train, changing in Paris, or drive. And Euroairport at Basel is almost as convenient as Zurich - even more so for resorts in the Bernese Oberland.
Zurich has a railway station right in the airport, and Switzerland's legendary railways do not disappoint. The infrastructure in Switzerland is second to none, so despite an image as expensive, you can actually have a relatively cost effective break - and you can be on the slopes within a couple of hours of arriving. Incidentally Swiss airways let you take your ski and snowboard gear on board for free.
And Zurich is not only convenient for Swiss resorts - there is a direct rail service to St Anton in Austria, and the drive to the other Arlberg resorts or Ischgl is pretty straightforward too. I've driven between Zurich and St Anton in a little over 2 hours without breaking a speed limit once. See my blog article on driving from Switzerland to St Anton for more information. There is also a daily shuttle bus from Zurich Airport provided by the Arlberg Express.
Below are details of resorts you can get to from Zurich by public transport and the rough transfer times from Zurich HB, all taken from this web site. I won't go too much into the ins and outs of travelling within Switzerland - this is covered at the page on Getting About - and individual resort pages provide more detail for each resort, but I will include here a selection of journey times. The prices quoted are for the return rail fare to/from Zurich and lift pass for one day on the slopes using the Swiss Rail Snow'n'Rail discount scheme. A two day pass will cost you another SFr30-70 depending on the resort.
Resort | Piste(km) | Least Time | Least Changes | Snow'n'Rail | One Day Snow'n'Rail Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Vallées | 412 | 3 hrs 17 mins | 2 | Y | 207.80 |
Adelboden | 210 | 2 hrs 32 mins | 2 | Y | 168.60 |
Airolo | 30 | 1 hr 44 mins | Y | 100.00 | |
Aletsch Arena | 104 | 2 hrs 37 mins | 1 | Y | 192.80 |
Alt St Johann | 60 | 1 hr 55 mins | 2 | Y | 104.60 |
Andermatt | 125 | 1 hr 53 mins | 1 | Y | 103.20 |
Anzère | 52 | 3 hrs 15 mins | 2 | N | |
Arolla | 47 | 3 hrs 50 mins | 2 | N | |
Arosa | 225 | 2 hrs 32 mins | 1 | Y | 117.60 |
Belalp | 60 | 2 hrs 36 mins | 1 | Y | 187.20 |
Bettmeralp | 104 | 2 hrs 37 mins | 1 | Y | 192.80 |
Braunwald | 32 | 1 hr 30 mins | 1 | Y | 79.80 |
Brig | 110 | 2 hrs 08 mins | N | ||
Brigels | 75 | 2 hrs 25 mins | 2 | Y | |
Bruson | 40 | 3 hrs 17 mins | 2 | Y | 207.80 |
Celerina | 163 | 3 hrs 08 mins | 1 | Y | 182.40 |
Champéry | 650 | 3 hrs 51 mins | 2 | N | 197.00 |
Chandolin | 75 | 2 hrs 43 mins | 3 | Y | 216.00 |
Château-d'Oex | 30 | 3 hrs 10 mins | 2 | Y | 166.40 |
Chur | 20 | 1 hr 31 mins | N | ||
Crans-Montana | 140 | 3 hrs 21 mins | 2 | Y | 217.80 |
Davos | 300 | 2 hrs 13 mins | 1 | Y | 142.40 |
Diavolezza | 35 | 3 hrs 44 mins | 2 | Y | 182.40 |
Disentis | 60 | 2 hrs 34 mins | 1 | Y | 138.40 |
Engadine | 350 | 3 hrs 08 mins | 1 | Y | 182.40 |
Engelberg | 82 | 1 hr 49 mins | 1 | Y | 113.40 |
Fiescheralp | 104 | 2 hrs 57 mins | 1 | Y | 192.80 |
Filisur | 2 hrs 25 mins | 1 | N | ||
First | 50 | 2 hrs 37 mins | 2 | Y | 169.60 |
Flims Laax Falera | 235 | 1 hr 50 mins | 1 | Y | 145.80 |
Flumserberg | 75 | 1 hr 04 mins | 1 | Y | 93.40 |
Glacier 3000 | 25 | 3 hrs 38 mins | 2 | Y | 166.40 |
Goms | 5 | 3 hrs 07 mins | 2 | N | |
Grächen | 40 | 2 hrs 48 mins | 1 | Y | |
Grimentz | 72 | 3 hrs 43 mins | 3 | Y | 216.00 |
Grindelwald | 160 | 2 hrs 37 mins | 2 | Y | 168.80 |
Gstaad | 250 | 2 hrs 49 mins | 2 | Y | 166.40 |
Hoch-Ybrig | 50 | 1 hr 28 mins | 2 | Y | 85.40 |
Interlaken | 1 hr 55 mins | 1 | N | ||
Klewenalp | 40 | 1 hr 53 mins | 2 | Y | 93.60 |
Klosters | 300 | 1 hr 48 mins | 1 | Y | 142.40 |
Lausanne | 2 hrs 12 mins | N | |||
Lenk i. S. | 210 | 2 hrs 59 mins | 3 | Y | 168.60 |
Lenzerheide | 225 | 1 hr 55 mins | 1 | Y | 117.60 |
Les Diablerets | 100 | 3 hrs 38 mins | 2 | Y | 194.20 |
Les Marécottes | 25 | 3 hrs 32 mins | 2 | N | |
Leukerbad | 52 | 3 hrs 05 mins | 2 | Y | 203.20 |
Leysin | 100 | 3 hrs 19 mins | 2 | Y | 194.20 |
Lötschental | 33 | 2 hrs 41 mins | 2 | Y | 170.80 |
Meiringen | 60 | 2 hrs 08 mins | 1 | Y | 108.00 |
Melchsee-Frutt | 32 | 2 hrs 12 mins | 2 | Y | 101.60 |
Mürren | 54 | 2 hrs 49 mins | 1 | Y | 168.80 |
Nendaz | 412 | 3 hrs 15 mins | 2 | Y | 207.80 |
Obersaxen | 120 | 2 hrs 38 mins | 2 | N | |
Obertoggenburg | 60 | 1 hr 55 mins | 1 | Y | 104.60 |
Pizol | 40 | 1 hr 18 mins | 1 | Y | 93.60 |
Pontresina | 35 | 3 hrs 44 mins | 2 | Y | 182.40 |
Portes du Soleil | 650 | 3 hrs 51 mins | 2 | Y | 197.00 |
Riederalp | 104 | 2 hrs 34 mins | 1 | Y | 192.80 |
Rosswald | 26 | 2 hrs 53 mins | 2 | N | |
Rougemont | 62 | 3 hrs | 2 | Y | 166.40 |
Saanen | 86 | 2 hrs 59 mins | 2 | Y | 166.40 |
Saanenmöser | 85 | 2 hrs 17 mins | 1 | Y | 166.40 |
Saas-Fee | 145 | 2 hrs 57 mins | 1 | Y | 217.00 |
Saas-Grund | 35 | 2 hrs 44 mins | 1 | Y | 217.00 |
Saastal | 145 | 2 hrs 57 mins | 1 | Y | 217.00 |
Savognin | 80 | 2 hrs 37 mins | 1 | N | |
Schönried | 109 | 2 hrs 17 mins | 1 | Y | 166.40 |
Scuol | 80 | 2 hrs 39 mins | 1 | Y | 146.40 |
Sedrun | 50 | 2 hrs 53 mins | 2 | Y | 103.20 |
Sierre-Anniviers | 228 | 3 hrs 47 mins | 3 | Y | 216.00 |
Siviez | 412 | 3 hrs 15 mins | 2 | Y | 207.80 |
Sörenberg | 53 | 1 hr 53 mins | 2 | Y | 112.00 |
Splügen | 30 | 2 hrs 26 mins | 1 | Y | 141.80 |
St Anton | 128 | 2 hrs 17 mins | N | ||
St Moritz | 350 | 3 hrs 26 mins | 1 | Y | 182.40 |
St. Stephan | 88 | 2 hrs 17 mins | 1 | Y | 166.40 |
St-Luc | 75 | 3 hrs 42 mins | 3 | Y | 216.00 |
Stoos | 35 | 1 hr 15 mins | 2 | Y | 83.80 |
Unterbäch | 20 | 2 hrs 31 mins | 2 | Y | 184.80 |
Unterwasser | 60 | 1 hr 55 mins | 1 | Y | 104.60 |
Vals | 25 | 2 hrs 34 mins | 2 | Y | 142.20 |
Verbier | 412 | 3 hrs 17 mins | 2 | Y | 207.80 |
Veysonnaz | 412 | 3 hrs 11 mins | 2 | N | 207.80 |
Villars | 100 | 3 hrs 58 mins | 2 | Y | 194.20 |
Wengen | 110 | 2 hrs 49 mins | 3 | Y | 168.80 |
Wildhaus | 60 | 1 hr 55 mins | 1 | Y | 104.60 |
Zermatt | 350 | 3 hrs 11 mins | 1 | Y | 258.00 |
Zinal | 72 | 3 hrs 47 mins | 3 | Y | 216.00 |
Zweisimmen | 85 | 2 hrs 17 mins | 1 | Y | 166.40 |