Latest snow report
Updated: 6.30pm Friday 17 January 2025
The Alps have seen a little snow here and there this week, mostly in the eastern Austrian Alps where it has helped freshen things up in resorts like Obertauern and Schladming. On the whole, though, it has been dry in the Alps in recent days, with plenty of sunshine, the best of which has been at altitude in the west. As is often the case at this time of year, some of the lower valleys have been plagued by low cloud.
In general, snow depths are relatively modest across the Alps for mid-January but there is still plenty of good piste-skiing to be had, all the more enjoyable given the amount of sunshine they have seen in recent days.
Two areas which stand out for having a serious lack of snow right now, however, are the far southern French Alps (e.g. Isola 2000, Auron) and the far south of Austria (e.g. Bad Kleinkirchheim), though even here there is plenty of good skiing (thanks to artificial help), at least if you are happy to stay on-piste.
As for the weather forecast for the Alps, most regions are set to stay fine over the next few days, except for the south-west where resorts like Isola 2000 and Sestriere will see a few centimetres of snow this weekend and possibly also early next week. This may also extend over some border areas into resorts like Val d’Isère and Zermatt, but in modest quantities.
Across the pond, the resorts of northern Colorado (e.g. Copper Mountain) are doing as well as most right now…
Austria
Some Austrian ski resorts saw a modest top-up of snow earlier this week, with the heaviest falls in the east where high altitude Obertauern (100/150cm) is skiing as well as anywhere right now.
More generally, there hasn’t been any significant snow in Austria for some time now. There is still plenty of good piste-skiing on offer, even in lower resorts such as Kitzbühel (5/75cm) and Saalbach (40/100cm), but conditions are generally hard-packed with some icy patches in places.
The one part of Austria that is very short of natural snow is the far south, though even here there is plenty of skiing on offer in the likes of Bad Klein Kirchheim (10/55cm) thanks to artificial help.
Over the next few days there is very little (if any) snow in the forecast for the Austrian Alps.
France
France still has plenty of good skiing on offer, despite it not having snowed heavily for a while, although some of the pistes are getting very hard-packed or icy in places. For the very best snow conditions you still need to aim high, to the likes of Val d’Isère (110/194cm) and La Rosière (120/210cm).
Lower down though, ski areas like the Portes du Soleil are still operating across the vast majority of their slopes, despite thinning snow cover at resort level in the likes of Les Gets (25/100cm).
The one part of the French Alps that is seriously lacking in snow is the far south but, even here, most of Isola 2000 (35/45cm) is open thanks to extensive snow-making.
The far southern French Alps may see some fresh snow over the next few days, extending up the border towards resorts like Val d’Isère and Val Cenis (45/140cm), though probably not in any great quantity.
Italy
On the whole, snow depths in the Italian ski resorts are below where they should be for the time of year. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of good skiing on offer.
With the weak sun at this time of year, relatively low temperatures and world class snow-making, there is still lots of fun to be had, on-piste at least. Sestriere currently has settled snow depths of around 70/75cm depending on altitude and, in the Dolomites, Selva has 60/85cm.
Off-piste opportunities are more limited; best in the higher resorts of the far north-west including Cervinia (50/150cm) and La Thuile (115/250cm), where base depths are a bit closer to what you might expect for mid-January.
Some snow is forecast in the Italian Alps over the next few days but mostly in the south-west (e.g. Limone, Sestriere), possibly extending to Cervinia and the Monte Rosa region but not in any great quantity.
Switzerland
There is still lots of good skiing on offer in Switzerland despite the relatively modest snow depths, all helped by the predominantly sunny weather in recent days. In the west, Crans Montana (90/180cm) has better snow depths relative to altitude than most and is offering enjoyable pistes, despite some icy patches.
Further north, Wengen (25/90cm) also has ample cover and good piste-skiing though, like most Swiss resorts right now, good off-piste is harder to find.
In the east, it’s a similar story in Davos (40/90cm), with unremarkable snow depths but lots of good piste-skiing, particularly enjoyable in the predominantly sunny weather.
Most regions will remain dry over the next few days, though some light snow is possible in the far south-west (Zermatt/Saas-Fee).
Rest of Europe
Snow depths remain modest in the Pyrenees, with some low resorts unable to function. Higher up though, better-known destinations like Spain’s Baqueira Beret (40/70cm) and Andorra’s Pas de la Casa (60/95cm) have plenty of good piste-skiing on offer, if a little icy in places.
In Scandinavia, snow depths in Norway remain a little more impressive in some western resorts, including Voss (90/110cm).
Scotland currently has no proper lift-served skiing available, now that any recent snow has been wiped out by the mild weather.
USA
In the US, most Colorado ski resorts are in good shape with snow depths in Keystone (100cm mid-mountain base) above par for mid-January, with a bit more snow in the forecast tonight.
After a sluggish start to the season, snow conditions in Utah have improved this New Year with mid-mountain base depths now around 160cm in Snowbird, which has seen significant snowfall over the last week.
By contrast, this week has been a sunny one in California’s Mammoth (120cm upper base), with the fine weather expected to continue for some time yet.
Canada
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 24 January 2025