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Snow conditions in the Alps are generally good right now, at least if you are happy to stay on the pistes. Some good off-piste is also possible but given the relatively modest snow depths and lots of wind during the recent storms, it is not always obvious, and a good guide is always advisable.

Many more ski resorts will open this weekend, taking the number of options available in the Alps into the hundreds, with the remainder set to follow the weekend of 21/22 December.

Nowhere in the Alps has a huge amount of snow but, all things considered, the higher resorts of the western Alps are probably in the best shape right now, including (but certainly not limited to) Alpe d’Huez, Tignes/Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Cervinia, Verbier, and Zermatt.

In Austria, Lech, Obergurgl, Sölden and Obertauern are further good options. That said, there is also lots of good piste skiing lower down, especially in Austria (e.g. Saalbach, Ski Welt, Kitzbühel) and Italy (Dolomites), where resorts are skiing fine right now thanks to a mix of natural and artificial snow, helped by the relatively cool temperatures.

Looking a bit further ahead, a little snow is forecast for some parts of the Alps this weekend, first in the south and then later in the north, albeit not generally amounting to much. Then, after a drier spell, we are hopeful that some more significant snow might arrive in the run-up to Christmas, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Across the pond, Whistler is probably the best place to be thanks to further snowfalls on an already solid early-season base... 

Snow conditions are generally very good across the Austrian ski resorts, especially on-piste.

Among the better bets right now are Lech (50/60cm) and Obergurgl (35/80cm) but you will also find some good piste skiing further east in both Obertauern (60/90cm) and lower down in Zell am See (10/45cm), even if natural snow cover is still modest for now.

A bit of new snow can be expected over the weekend, heaviest in the north and west (e.g. Arlberg area). 

Snow conditions are mostly excellent for the time of year in the French Alps, thanks to the recent snowfalls followed by relatively cool temperatures. Around a dozen resorts are currently open, mostly the higher ones, but with many more options on offer from this weekend.

Two of the best bets this weekend are Val d’Isère (55/80cm) and Alpe d’Huez (55/110cm), but you also find some good skiing futher south in Serre Chevalier (35/70cm).

Some light snow is forecast in the southern French Alps late on Friday night, bringing a few cm here and there. There may also be some flurries further north on Saturday but they will not deliver any discernible top-ups.

Dozens of ski resorts in Italy are at least partially open despite mostly modest snow cover.

Cervinia (30/120cm) remains the best bet in terms of snow depths and extent of open terrain (in one area). However, you will also find very extensive piste-skiing on offer in the Dolomites, even more so this weekend.

Right now, settled snow depths in the Sella Ronda region are typically 5-20cm but pistes are in good condition thanks to world-class artificial snow coverage. 

Lots of resorts are now partially open across Switzerland though, as with most other parts of the Alps, snow depths remain relatively modest.

Among the more extensive options are Zermatt (15/150cm) and Verbier, but further north and east you can also find good pistes in Wengen (5/50cm), Davos (20/45cm) and St Moritz (20/45cm).

Some light snow is possible across the northern Swiss Alps this weekend, albeit not amounting to much. 

The Pyrenees saw huge snowfalls earlier this week, especially on the north-western side of the chain where Gourette had well over 1m at resort level and will open with near-perfect conditions this weekend.

Already open this week is Andorra’s Granvalira (45-80cm settled base), which has excellent snow conditions for the time of year.

Lots of ski resorts are partially open in Scandinavia although snow depths are generally modest, with just 20cm mid-mountain in Norway’s Hemsedal and 20cm in Sweden’s Åre.

Some skiing is now possible in Scotland, with Glencoe offering some easy terrain on the plateau as of last Wednesday. Cairngorm actually has more snow but is not planning any uplift before 20 December.  

Snow conditions are rather mixed across the western US. California’s Mammoth (100cm upper base) continues to lead the way, with most of its runs now open and snow forecast both today and on Saturday.

Over in Colorado, snow depths are also mostly above average for mid-December, especially in Copper Mountain where settled snow depths are also around 1m up top.

Over in Utah, they could do with a bit more snow with just 65cm mid-mountain in Snowbird though some snow is expected here over the weekend. 

Whistler (95cm mid-mountain base) hasn’t seen much snow in the last week but is forecast to get a lot over the next few days, which will significantly augment their already good start to the season.

Further inland, there is just a dusting forecast this weekend for Sunshine Village (71cm mid-mountain base), but there is also plenty of good skiing on offer here following 25cm of new snow in the last week. 

Our next full snow report will be on
Friday 20 December 2024