Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez lives up to its nickname "Island in the Sun" with 300 days of sunshine annually—30% more than the average Alpine resort. Its claim to fame is the Sarenne, a 16 km black run that stands as the longest in Europe, dropping 1,100 vertical meters in a single breathtaking descent. The resort spans 250 km of pistes, including the demanding Tunnel run at 3,330 meters, which is 400 meters higher than Les Deux Alpes' glacier top. Sunshine stats aside, Alpe d'Huez offers more varied expert terrain than #5 on this list, though its lower glacier elevation (3,330 m) means late-season snow can be less reliable than Les Deux Alpes' 3,600 m summit.