Storm chasing is a traditional rite of passage for skiers and as any weather.com enthusiast would tell you, watching a low pressure system develop triggers a nomadic impulse in alpine sport enthusiasts who hope to track and then float through snowy deposits once such frozen water has descended to earth. Driven by a year round passion for the mountains, skiers have been known to go to great lengths to find snow or experience the act of skiing even in the driest of seasons and amidst the most remote or exotic places on earth. Bound together by the sensation of joy and freedom that skiing provides, alpine sport enthusiasts have no trouble traveling far and wide for even just a sliver of the white stuff and such is the attitude of Southern Africans frequenting the High Kingdom of Lesotho and its Maluti Mountains, home to Afriski Mountain Resort.

One of only three independent states in the world which is completely surrounded by the territory of another country (San Marino and Vatican City being the other two), the Kingdom of Lesotho resides within the borders of the country of South Africa. Lesotho’s first inhabitants, who occupied what is now Botswana and South Africa, were a nomadic peoples called the San and are widely acknowledged as one of the oldest cultures on Earth. Like the skiers of Southern Africa today, the San moved according to the seasons and in harmony with the availability of resources which fluctuated with great frequency in the warm and sometimes desert climates through which their lives revolved. Early San peoples frequently traversed the Maluti range whose highest point reaches 3,482 meters (11,424 feet), the tallest peak in Africa south of the world renowned Mount Kilimanjaro. Lesotho is the only independent state in the world lying entirely above 1000 meters, with a lowest point of 1400 meters.

One of many high mountain passes in Lesotho with the usual snow cover

High in the Maluti range snowfall often begins sporadically in April and delivers a proper season of winter from June through August much in the manner that one might expect in South America or in Australia or New Zealand during the same period. For storm chasers, skiers of all levels, and others drawn to the rugged beauty of Lesotho’s higher elevations, the Afriski Mountain Resort represents a singular opportunity to partake in a classic alpine sporting experience in one of the most remote settings on earth.

One of only two ski resorts in all of Southern Africa, Afriski’s summit tops out 3,222 meters (10,600 feet) above sea level and operates only a solitary main ski slope of approximately one full kilometer in length. Evoking the spirit of exploration and discovery that stimulated the nomadic adventures of the San people, those pursuing a day or week’s winter recreation at Afriski often come for the sheer novelty of skiing which most often stands in the sporting shadows of other pastimes of the region, such as rugby and soccer. Reminiscent of local neighborhood hills in North America, the mountain is easily identifiable by its groomed single track, a wide painted stripe seemingly applied by nature (with an assist from a sophisticated snow gun operation) to the Maluti plateau of alpine basalt. As such, the setting at Afriski is an environment driven by the sheer love of the sport, with an unmistakable aura of enthusiasm, passion, and fun. With scant skiing options available to local alpine sportsmen and women, and just two hours from Johannesburg South Africa, Afriski Resort caters to those weather watching adventurers and first timers alike who relish in the magical idea of a winter’s snowfall in the southern portion of the African continent.

A sophisticated snow gun operation ensures peak conditions and provides a gentle assist to mother nature.

A perfect groomer at Afriski Mountain Resort

Like the skiers in every corner of the globe, those heading to Afriski wait with unbridled anticipation for a low pressure system’s arrival to the Maluti range. In fact, while many might find a contradiction in the gentle slope of Afriski’s groomed track when compared with its title as an “Adventure Resort,” true skiers know that excitement always lies in the eye of the beholder. For those of us whose anticipation of the next day’s storm cycle sends us early to bed and early to rise, whether a beginner, an expert, or somewhere in between, going to great lengths to find and slide on snow is a nomadic passage undertaken by each and every one of us who seek the freedom which alpine sport has to offer. And ultimately, whether chasing powder or a hard edge on a groomed track or trail in the Kingdom of Lesotho, it is the sheer joy of skiing by which the magic of adventure may always be measured in full.