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After a week of very unsettled weather and highly variable freezing levels, snow conditions in the Alps are decidedly mixed right now. At high altitude, and in the north-west, resorts like Val Thorens and Tignes will be in great condition once the current stormy conditions start to abate.

At lower altitudes in these same regions, however, rain has been a nuisance in the likes of the Portes du Soleil, Megève, Villars and Gstaad (to name just a few), meaning that snow conditions have deteriorated somewhat.

The further east and south you are in the Alps, the less of an issue this week’s yo-yoing temperatures and rain have been, and the less of a contrast there is between conditions at different altitudes. In the Dolomites, for example, there is decent piste-skiing at all levels, despite the continuing modest snow depths.

Once this current storm peters out tomorrow, a lot of sunshine is expected in the Alps, with relatively low temperatures, at least in the short term.

Across the pond, conditions are also mixed but generally improving, especially in Utah which had seen a slow start to the season…

Snow conditions are mixed across the Austrian Alps right now though rain has generally been less of an issue than further west.

For the best conditions you still need to aim high, with some excellent skiing on offer in both Lech (90/120cm) and Obergurgl (90/35cm).

Lower down, resorts like Kitzbühel (5/70cm) can still offer lots of good piste-skiing, although the snow quality is more variable. 

Snow conditions have been extremely mixed in the French Alps this week, with lots of fresh snow higher up but also some rain at times lower down. This means that conditions will be excellent in high resorts like Tignes (115/175cm) and La Plagne (50/165cm) once the weather settles down this weekend.

Lower down in the likes of Megève (20/150cm), snow quality will be more variable due to rain damage, but there is still plenty of snow and some decent piste-skiing higher up.  

Italian ski resorts have avoided most of the rain this week and can generally offer more consistent snow conditions than many other Alpine regions, despite having generally modest snow depths.

The best of the fresh is in the higher resorts of the Aosta, such as La Thuile (30/240cm) and Cervinia (55/130cm). Further east, the Dolomites saw some snow earlier in the week and can still offer good pistes, despite below par depths. 

Snow conditions are very mixed across the Swiss Alps right now. At higher altitudes, where precipitation from this week’s storms has mostly fallen as snow, conditions will be excellent once the weather clears up, including in the likes of Andermatt (90/140cm) and Saas-Fee (80/240cm).

There has been some rain lower down in recent days though, meaning that snow conditions in resorts like Gstaad (20/60cm) will be far more variable. 

There is plenty of good piste-skiing on offer in the higher resorts of the Pyrenees although fluctuating temperatures have left some lower resorts and ski areas a bit threadbare. Two of the better bets right now are Spain’s Baqueira Beret (40/70cm) and Andorra’s Granvalira (45/95cm).

Over in Scandinavia, new snow has improved snow conditions in many Norwegian resorts, including Voss which now has healthy base depths of 85/110cm.

Skiing in Scotland is currently limited to a handful of runs at the Lecht and Cairngorm. 

Whistler (166cm mid-mountain base) hasn’t seen much snow in the last week but still has plenty of good skiing on offer thanks to a strong early season.

It’s a similar story further inland where a few flurries have freshened up the pistes in Lake Louise (77cm mid-mountain base), although there is no significant snow in the forecast.

In Canada, Whistler (166cm mid-mountain base) hasn’t seen any new snow since we last reported, nor is there any in the forecast. However, snow cover remains good thanks to the big early-season storms, and there is still plenty of great skiing on offer, especially on-piste.

Further inland, it’s much colder in Lake Louise (95cm upper base) which has seen a few flurries but has no substantial fresh snow on offer.   

Our next full snow report will be on
Friday 17 January 2025