The U.S. has been named the world’s top skiing destination!

Beating out stiff competition from competitor, France, the U.S. has taken the top spot as the world’s most popular skiing destination!

France and the U.S. have long competed for the top spot, taking first place in 4 winters each for the last four years. This year, it’s the U.S. which triumphs for the first time since 2012, enjoying a 0.6% rise in visitors to the slopes during the winter of 2015/2016 with 53.9 million ‘skier days’.

Meanwhile France saw a 3% drop compared to the previous year, with just 52 million ‘skier days’ – a slump which has been blamed on poor weather conditions and the lack of snowfall seen in the Alps and the Pyrenees.

The data was collected by the group representing 230 ski resorts in France, Domaines Skiables de France (DSF). Austria took third place, with 49.9 million ‘skier days’.

With so many awesome places to ski in the U.S., it’s easy to enjoy a ski break in the world’s top ski destination! From Vail in Colorado to the Alta Ski Resort in Utah, there’s no shortage of great places to hit the slopes.

IMG: Another Great Day in Vail, Snow Snow / Flickr cc.