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Snow conditions remain good for early December across most of the Alps, even if snow depths in many areas are more modest than you might think given the much-publicised late November snowfall.
One area that definitely does have impressive snow depths for the time of year is the north-western Alps, which caught the brunt of the big storms early last week.
There is also a reasonable amount of snow for the time of year across the northern Austrian Alps, especially in the west (Arlberg), and in many other parts of Italy, including the Dolomites.
Snow cover is generally below average in the southern Austrian Alps, the south and south-east of Switzerland (e.g. St Moritz, Zermatt) and in some high inner-Alpine Italian regions, like the Monte Rosa. However, most of these areas are high and have good snowmaking, so there is still plenty of good skiing on offer, as there is across most of the Alps.
The weather in the Alps will turn milder over the weekend with a bit of rain in places (mostly in the north and west) before it turns sunnier (while remaining very mild) next week.
Across the pond, the snow-starved US Rockies, including Colorado, are finally seeing some significant snow…
Snow conditions in the Austrian Alps remain very solid for early December.
Ischgl (20/35cm) continues to offer the greatest extent of skiing, despite its modest snow depths, with 182km of piste now open.
There is deeper snow in Lech-Zürs (40/80cm) and St Anton (20/90cm), which both opened on Wednesday, although fewer pistes are open for now, about 80km in both resorts combined.
Other good options in Austria this week include Sölden (15/45cm) and Saalbach (20/70cm), both of which are offering well over 100km of pistes.
The weather will turn much milder over the weekend, with a little rain or snow in the west, before it turns sunnier (while remaining very mild) early next week.
Good early season snow cover in the Austrian Arlberg. This is Lech, which opened for the season on 3 December – Photo: lechzuers.com, 5 December 2025
Snow conditions in the French Alps remain excellent – with overall by far the best skiing conditions of the main Alpine countries – with great skiing on offer in both the northern and the southern French Alps.
In the north, Val d’Isère has settled snow depths of 50/85cm depending on altitude and is skiing superbly. Other options that are now open every day of the week include Val Thorens (75/125cm) and (as of today) other 3 Valley resorts, including Courchevel (55/95cm).
Further north, Flaine is also open and has an impressive base of 40/120cm.
In the southern French Alps, Isola 2000 has seen significant fresh snow in recent days and is in good early season shape, with a settled base of 50/65cm.
Over the weekend, it will turn milder everywhere in the French Alps, with some rain to 2500m in places later on Sunday, before the weather settles down again (but stays warm) early next week.
Excellent early season snow conditions in the far southern French Alps. This is Auron 5 December 2025 – Photo: auron.com
Snow conditions are generally pretty good for early December across the Italian ski resorts even if snow depths are not always that impressive.
One area that has more snow than most in Italy is the far north-west, where Courmayeur (30/80cm) is skiing as well as anywhere in the Alps right now.
Further east, many of the ski resorts in the Dolomites are also now open, with Selva (20/50cm offering good pistes on a mixture of natural and man-made snow.
The weather in the Italian Alps will turn milder over the weekend and into next week. There may be a few light showers or flurries in the north-west on Saturday and Sunday, although no significant new snow is expected any time soon.
Plenty of snow in the south-western Italian Alps. This is Limone Piemonte – 5 December 2025 – Photo: riservabianca.it
There is lots of good skiing on offer in the Swiss Alps right now, although snow depths vary considerably from region to region.
Some of the best snow is in the far west of Switzerland, where Champéry-Les Crosets (70/120cm) opened last weekend, ahead of schedule.
Mürren (50/100cm) is another Swiss ski resort that still has above average snowfalls after the recent storm and has been offering some great skiing this week. Further east, Arosa (35/45cm) can also offer some enjoyable piste skiing, despite having much less snow.
Over the weekend, milder weather with some rain is forecast for the Swiss Alps, especially in the north and west, before it turns sunnier (while remaining very mild) next week.
Sunny skies at altitude today in Saas-Fee – 5 December 2025 – Photo: saas-fee.ch
A dozen or so ski areas in the Pyrenees are open today, including Andorra’s Grandvalira (125cm upper base) which officially opened today and looks to be skiing very nicely for the time of year. Another good option is Spain’s Baqueira Beret, where there is 40/70cm of settled snow depending on altitude and conditions are also good for early December.
Numerous ski areas are now open across Scandinavia but all still on a very limited basis, with Finland’s Levi (25cm upper base) leading the way today with 12km of pistes – though this may change over the weekend.
Skiing in Scotland is currently limited to a small section of Cairngorm which is likely to be wind-disrupted later on Saturday.
Good early season snow conditions in Soldeu, Andorra – 5 December 2025 – Photo: grandvalira.com
Snow conditions are starting to improve in the western US after a very meagre start to the season in many places. In Colorado, Breckenridge (50cm upper base) has seen around 30cm of new snow in the last few days, with more forecast over the weekend.
Across in Utah, snow conditions are also fast improving in Alta (40cm upper base) thanks to the snow that fell earlier this week and is also forecast today.
Snow conditions are improving in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with lots more snow in the forecast –5 December 2025 – Photo: jacksonhole.com
10 ski areas are reportedly open in western Canada today, with the Banff-Lake Louise area still by far the best bet. Lake Louise is now nearly full open with an upper base of close to 1 metre.
By contrast, Whistler (74cm upper base) is less than 10% open, though the good news is that there is a lot of snow forecast here over the next few days.
Our next full snow report will be on
Thursday 11 December 2025
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