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Snow conditions across the Alps are highly variable right now, as you might expect in March. The mild weather means that spring-snow conditions can be expected in most areas, with plenty of altitude needed if you want to enjoy more wintry snow consistency for all or most of the day. 

As has been the case for most of this season though, natural snow is either very patchy or non-existent at low altitudes, especially in the northern Alps. There is still a good number of pistes open in the likes of Morzine-Les Gets, Gstaad, Adelboden and the Ski Welt, but the valleys are very green and it feels more like mid-April than mid-March. 

The situation is more normal at higher altitudes, and even better than normal for the lucky few resorts that benefited from the huge south-western storms earlier this month. This includes Isola 2000, Montgenèvre, Sestriere, Val Cenis, Val d’Isère and the Monte Rosa region. 

As for the forecast for the Alps, it is expected to stay mild for the next week at least, with bits and pieces of snow at altitude but nothing of any real significance any time soon. 

Across the pond, Utah continues to lead the way with well over 1m of new snow in Snowbird and Alta this month alone…

Snow conditions in Austria are highly variable right now. There are still plenty of runs open in the classic lower resorts like the Ski Welt (20/70cm) and Zell am See (0/135cm), but there is little if any natural snow low down and the atmosphere is decidedly spring-like.  

For wintrier conditions you need to aim high, with Obergurgl (106/185cm) and Kühtai (120/180cm) as good as anywhere right now. 

Snow depths and conditions are hugely variable from region to region in the French Alps. 

On the whole, the best snow cover is at high altitude, in resorts like Val d’Isère (137/255cm) and Val Thorens (150/220cm), and in resorts close to the southern border with Italy, including Isola 2000 (250/310cm) and Montgenèvre (180/310cm). That said, even these resorts are experiencing spring-snow conditions lower down. To find consistently wintry snow all day long you need to stay above 2400m or so. 

The picture is less rosy lower down, especially in the northern Alps, with little if any natural snow below 1500m in the likes of La Clusaz (0/235cm) and Megève (0/130cm). You can still find some reasonable piste-skiing higher up here, but it looks and feels more like mid-April than mid-March.  

Thanks to the big storms earlier this month, there is generally plenty of snow in the Italian Alps. The Monte Rosa region (35/230cm) is now in excellent condition, despite it having had a meagre start to its season. Sestriere (60/130cm) is also in much better shape than it was just a couple of weeks ago. However, in both cases the current mild weather is leading to some freeze-thaw activity lower down. 

Further east, in the Dolomites, Selva (80/100cm) is also in good nick for the time of year though the lower altitudes here do mean there will be slush that bit earlier in the day. 

Snow conditions across Switzerland are highly variable right now, but generally good at altitude (especially in the south) where Zermatt (30/200cm) and Saas Fee (110/425cm) both saw significant snow earlier this month. 

Lower down and further north, snow cover is much patchier and it feels decidedly spring-like in the likes of Villars (5/145cm) and Adelboden (0/138cm), although some reasonable piste-skiing is still on offer here at altitude. 

 Spring-snow conditions prevail across the Pyrenees although the big snowfalls earlier this month mean that the overall situation is much better than it was just a few weeks ago. Andorra’s Granvalira has base depths of 110/165cm depending on altitude, while Spain’s Baqueira Beret has 140/195cm. 

Scandinavia is currently colder than usual for the time of year, and its generally snowy winter means that there is plenty of good skiing still in both Norway’s Trysil (102/143cm) and Sweden’s Åre (108cm upper base). 

Scotland’s difficult season is continuing, although some lift-served skiing is expected to be open in Glencoe and Cairngorm this weekend, albeit on a limited basis. 

Utah continues to offer some of the best skiing in the western US right now, with well over 1m of new snow in Snowbird (309cm mid-mountain base) over the last couple of weeks.

Over in Colorado, Breckenridge (172cm mid-mountain) has also seen plenty of new snow in recent days and is skiing well, although overall snow depths here are still a bit below par for the time of year. 

Whistler (280cm mid-mountain base) saw a lot of snow earlier this week, though it is has now turned very mild, meaning that conditions are increasingly spring-like, especially lower down. 

It will also turn much milder further inland in Lake Louise (153cm upper base), where conditions will also become somewhat spring-like at lower altitudes. 

Our next full snow report will be on
Friday 29 March 2024

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