Les Deux Alpes, France

Nearest Airport: Grenoble
Sunometer: 4/5
Dates: 24th June – 2nd September 2017

France’s premiere option when it comes to charging through slush like a possessed puppy – Les Deux Alpes is probably the most famous offering when it comes to paying to get burnt on a budget.

LDA operates a full glacier park over the summer, which we reckon is the best that France offers in terms of summer snowboarding. They’ve even got a full-on superpipe to slash, pop and plant on if you get bored of the expansive kicker and rail offerings.

If you’re looking to go on a solo summer snowboard trip, there are more camps, courses and sessions than a Mormon fundraiser on offer. This means there’s plenty of opportunity to get your progression hat on, before the glacier shuts down at 12:30. You can check out some of the LDA options here.

The fun doesn’t stop then though, there’s a plethora of options to keep you entertained including go-karting, white water rafting, bungee jumping and the favourite pastime of any summer snowboarding trip; getting twatted on génépi at Smithy’s Tavern.

Folgefonna, Norway

Nearest Airport: Bergen
Sunometer: 2/5
Dates: 26th June – 8th July 2017

Folgefonna is your best chance of finding yourself a Scandi Kjære this summer, unless you randomly start walking around your local city with a box of open snuss and some brown cheese. Fonna (for short) is the home of Scandinavian snowboarding each summer with a flock of fine riders cruising the infamous glacier.  Folgefonna also boasts the shaping prowess of the Mushroom Crew, who have done a fine job of keeping Norway’s parks in tip top condition, and are returning to the park after a few seasons of glacier hiatus

Now, there are many things that Norway is, but cheap is definitely not one of them. You’d be lucky to afford a pack of rizzla on a European minimum wage, let alone 6 cans of lager, but if you’re an international baller, we’re sure you’ll bloody love it. For those of you that aren’t ballers, take advantage of Norway’s allemannsrett rule and head out into the wild for some camp vibes.

The park itself is instantly recognisable, and the stunt ditch T-bar has graced many an instagram feed, advert and cover shot. However, the weather at Fonna can be…challenging at the very least, so you need to go with the mindset that you might not actually do any snowboarding…shouldn’t of really included this should we?

Glasgow, Scotland

Nearest Airport: Glasgow
Sunometer: -1/5
Dates: All Year

Now we reckon we might be onto a winner with this one here. As a rule of thumb, most people have to decide whether to take a summer holiday, or a winter one. Now, whilst indoor snowboarding isn’t going to win you the ‘Xavier De Le Rue Award for Vertical Descent in One Day’ it does mean quick laps, and not having to share a lift with a million ski racers at 7AM.

What you get with Glasgow is both a cultural trip, and you get to get some laps in as well. You’ll need tae to your research though, because Braehead doenst have a park out 7 days a week, but you can always spice it up with Scotland’s least favourite pastime; dryslope.

Bearsden dryslope is only a wee drive away, and has the snowflex kicker upon which many a fine Scottish rider learnt their trade on. If you’re feeling that you want to go farther north than Glasgow, you can wind your way up to Aberdeen to sample the Granite City’s finest offerings as well.

If you time your trip right, you could even be in town at the same time as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival meaning you get your culture, and you get your carves. Who said snowboarders were bums eh?

Saas-Fee, Switzerland

Nearest Airport: Geneva
Sunometer: 2/5
Dates: 15th July until the winter season starts!

If you’re an aspiring NTG candidate, or just like going slightly mad with cabin fever Saas-Fee could be the summer trip with your name on. Whilst Saas-Fee is renowned for it’s risky biscuits backcountry (think more crevasses than there are holes in a colander), the glacier also hosts a damn fine snowpark as well.

Saas-Fee’s park is nothing to be snubbed at either, the crew create a hefty line of booters to keep the aerial cats happy, whilst there’s a smattering of rail based kmadness to be had as well.

There are a few downsides to Sass-Fee though – the lift times are pretty harsh, so you need to keep an eye on when the T-Bar that services the park closes. There’s also what we can only call the ‘Saas-Mad’; a phenomenon that occurs from spending too much time in Saas Fee.

Whilst beautiful and all that, sometimes you begin to feel a little trapped – at that point you need to escape to civilization for a while. Either that or you just end up slamming Jaeger and pints.