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Snow conditions in the Alps are excellent right now – as good as you could realistically hope for in late November! That said, not everywhere has as much snow as there is in the north-western Alps, where some places saw as much as 1.5m between and .
The areas that got properly dumped on earlier in the week include the whole of the northern French Alps (e.g. Val d’Isère, Flaine, Avoriaz), the western and northern Swiss Alps (e.g. Villars, Gstaad, Mürren and Engelberg) and the far north-western Italian Alps (e.g. Courmayeur, La Thuile). These areas all received at least a metre of snow over 4 days, with closer to 1.5m in parts of the Haute-Savoie and adjacent border areas in Switzerland.
The snowiest official figure we could find was at L’Ecreleuse (2252m), an official Swiss measuring station near the Dents du Midi just south of the Portes du Soleil, which clocked 176cm between and .
This excellent SLF map of Switzerland shows clearly where most of the snow fell during the height of the storm (between and ) with close to 1m falling in 48 hours in areas shown by the darker purples.
SLF chart showing the areas of the Alps which saw the most snow from the recent storm: Image: whiterisk.ch, 27 November 2025
What is so unusual about current snow conditions, at least in the context of recent years, is just how much snow there is at lower altitudes in the north-western Alps. This is fabulous news for resorts like Morzine, Les Gets, Megève, La Clusaz and Gstaad, which have rarely seen this much snow at resort level at any point in winter in recent years, let alone in .
All other parts of the Alps got at least some snow from this storm cycle, typically between 20–50cm, with more in the Austrian Arlberg (e.g. Lech). Some of the areas that didn’t see that much snow include high inner-alpine resorts like Zermatt and Saas-Fee, although they will preserve their snow (and snow quality) better than in the advent of a warmer spell.
So, all in all it’s an excellent start to the winter for most of the Alps. Does this guarantee good snow conditions for Christmas and New Year? It certainly increases the chances, but it’s not quite as simple as that. “Good snow conditions” depends a bit on the weather and temperatures at the time. In short, lots of snow doesn’t always mean good snow!
But, given that we are still in , it is safe to say that this is one of the very best starts to the Alpine ski season in recent years!
Across the pond, many Rocky Mountain resorts are in urgent need of heavy snow…
Early season snow conditions are generally very good in Austria, despite Austrian ski resorts having seen less snow from the recent storms and having much more modest snow depths, than those further west.
Ischgl (20/35cm) has 143km of runs open, the most open terrain of anywhere in the world right now and is skiing beautifully on-piste. As is Sölden (5/60cm), which has 98km is open.
The greatest snowfall totals in Austria from the recent storms were in the Arlberg region, where St Anton is projected to open for the 25/26 ski season on 3 December.
Picture postcard winter scenes in Schröcken in the Austrian Vorarlberg – 27 November 2025 –Photo: warth-schroecken.com
Snow conditions in the French Alps are exceptional right now – about as good as you can get for November, especially in the north.
Not only are the usual high-altitude suspects like Tignes (57/140cm) and Val Thorens (85/130cm) in superb shape, but there is also masses of snow lower down, which has enabled unscheduled openings in Les Septs Laux (50/100cm) and, this weekend, in La Clusaz and Avoriaz.
The next big scheduled opening is Val d’Isère this Saturday, which will link with Tignes to become one of the most extensive early season skiing options in the Alps.
Note that off-piste remains dangerous and strongly discouraged for now.
Perfect weather and snow conditions ahead of Val d’Isère’s opening on Saturday – Photo: valdisere.com, 27 November 2025
Early season snow conditions are generally excellent in Italy, even if snowfall totals from the recent storm varied greatly.
The far north-west did best, with well over 1 metre of fresh snow at altitude in Courmayeur and La Thuile, both of which will open this weekend.
Elsewhere in the Italian Alps, there was less snow, but still enough to allow for some excellent snow conditions in resorts already open, including Cervinia (20/160cm), and those that plan to open this weekend, such as Kronplatz.
Clear skies and deep snow across the La Thuile ski area, which opens this weekend – Photo: lathuile.it, 27 November 2025
Snow conditions in the Swiss Alps are generally excellent, although the most extensive skiing right now is in resorts that missed out on the heaviest of the recent falls. This includes Zermatt (10/160cm), where around 86km of pistes are open (shared with Cervinia), and Saas-Fee (20/145cm) with around 28km of pistes.
The really big snowfalls were further north and west, where Champéry-Les Crosets in the Portes du Soleil is opening ahead of schedule this weekend, alongside dozens of other resorts (scheduled and unscheduled), the biggest names of which are Laax, Wengen and Crans Montana.
Clearing skies as the storm moved away from Saas-Fee yesterday – Photo: saas-fee.ch, 26 November 2025
Several ski resorts in the Pyrenees are gearing up to open this weekend after recent snowfall, including Spain’s Baqueira Beret. But for most, it will be the weekend after.
Around 8 resorts are partially open in Scandinavia today, including Finland’s Levi (25cm upper base), though many more will join them this weekend.
Scotland has also been offering some early season skiing, unusual in recent times, with great snow conditions in Cairngorm earlier this week, although a thaw has since reduced the cover significantly.
Excellent early season base across much of the Pyrenees now, including here in Baqueira Beret – 27 November 2025 – Photo: baqueira.es
Many Rocky Mountain resorts are in desperate need of snow right now. Several big-name resorts, including Vail (50cm upper base), are partially open but heavily dependent on artificial snow.
California is faring a little better thanks some recent storms, with just over 1 metre up top in Mammoth.
Serious lack of snow across much of the US Rockies right now. This is Jackson Hole - Photo: jacksonhole.com, 26 November 2025
In Canada, Whistler (71cm upper base) is open, but on a very limited basis after lots of lower-level rain.
Probably the best bet in North America now is the Banff-Lake Louise area, which is roughly 40% open with snow depths in the region of 60/120cm depending on altitude.
Our next full snow report will be on
Thursday 4 December 2025
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