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Welcome to our first full snow report of the 2022-23 season!

Snow conditions in the Alps are generally pretty good for the middle of December, after what has been a series of step-by-step improvements over the last few weeks rather than any individual “season-defining” storm.

Although snow depths remain unremarkable across the Alps, there is now lots of good skiing on offer at altitude, and it is also possible to find plenty of good piste skiing lower down, especially in areas that are well served by snowmaking (such as the Dolomites, for example).

Wherever you are though, care should be taken off-piste as cover can be thin and there are still plenty of hidden dangers lurking just beneath the surface, even at higher altitudes.

Across the pond, many western US states are enjoying excellent early season snow conditions, with Utah currently the stand-out state…

Snow cover is generally pretty good for mid-December across the Austrian resorts, though more is needed lower down to secure a convincing early season base. That said, there is some good piste skiing right now in Saalbach (40/50cm) and Ellmau (15/50cm), though no off-piste to speak of.

For the very best conditions you need to be a bit higher, in resorts such as Sölden (55/150cm) and Obergurgl (35/70cm).

Temperatures are a bit milder today, especially in the western Austrian Alps, but it will turn cool again by Friday, with more snow forecast for most areas before it warms up early next week. 

Both the northern and the southern French Alps have reasonably good snow cover for mid-December thanks to multiple snowfalls over the past few weeks, including a significant fall yesterday.

In the northern French Alps, Val d’Isère (70/100cm) is doing particularly well right now and saw around 30cm of new snow yesterday. Further south, Montgenèvre (65/95cm) is also enjoying a good start to the season. Even the lower resorts like Morzine are in decent early shape with settled snow depths here around 40/105cm and good on-piste skiing possible down to resort.

The weather has turned a bit milder today but will turn colder again later in the week before a more sustained spell of mild weather returns later in the weekend. The next significant snow is forecast for late on Thursday and Friday, this time heaviest in the central and southern Alps (e.g. Les 2 Alpes, Serre Chevalier). 

Italian resorts are off to a solid start even if snow depths remain relatively modest. Yesterday’s snow fell mostly in the far western Italian Alps, where conditions are now great in the likes of Sestriere (30/70cm).

There is also good skiing to be found further east, with settled snow depths of 30/50cm in Livigno and 40cm mid-mountain in Selva, thanks to a mixture of natural and artificial snow.

More snow is expected in most Italian resorts over the next few days, especially on Thursday afternoon and overnight.

The Swiss Alps are offering lots of good skiing right now despite relatively modest snow depths, particularly lower down. For the best snow quality, you still need to aim high, where there is lots of good skiing in resorts such as Zermatt (10/110cm) and Saas-Fee (30/150cm).

Lower down, you can also ski down to resort in Gstaad (25/40cm) and Wengen (25/55cm) but more snow is needed to ensure a convincing early season base.

Bits and pieces of snow are forecast over the next few days, mostly in the far south of Switzerland (e.g. St Moritz) and heaviest on Thursday night. It has turned milder today, but it will become colder to end the week, before turning milder again later in the weekend. 

Skiing is now underway across the Pyrenees, despite snow depths remaining quite modest. There is still some great skiing to be found in both Andorra’s Soldeu (25/45cm) and Spain’s Baqueira Beret (40/55cm), on a mixture of naturaland artificial snow.

Scandinavia also has some good piste skiing on offer, though temperatures have been very cold of late. Norway’s Hemsedal has settled depths of 35/70cm with more snow in the forecast for the weekend. 

Most western US ski areas have had an excellent start to the season, especially in Utah where several big Autumn storms have built up an impressive 180cm mid-mountain base in Snowbird.

Wyoming’s Jackson Hole (70/115cm) and Montana’s Big Sky (58/147cm) are also in good early shape, but most impressive of all is California’s Mammoth where there is already an impressive 343cm up top. 

There is some good skiing to be had in the resorts of western Canada, even if snow depths are generally less impressive than in the western US. Whistler has 120cm up top but is still very thin on the ground lower down.

Snow conditions are more consistent further inland in the Banff-Lake Louise area, where there is 55/105cm depending on altitude. 

Our next full snow report will be on
Friday 23 December 2022

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