After a largely unremarkable autumn, snow conditions in the Alps improved significantly towards the end of October thanks to a major storm cycle that dumped over 1m of snow at altitude across some of the north-western Alps. This was followed by further top-ups both at end of the month and early in November, leaving many higher parts of the Alps with above average snow depths for the time of year.
The area that saw the most snow from the recent storms was the northern French Alps, especially L’Espace Killy (Val d’Isère and Tignes). With well over a metre of snow having fallen in late October, there should now be a lasting base here, at least on the upper sectors of the ski area.
Several other high ski areas in the Alps also now have something of a base, even if in most cases it is only at high altitude. This includes Val Thorens in France, Verbier in Switzerland, Cervinia in Italy, and Ischgl and Obergurgl in Austria.
So, while this is an encouraging start for a select few high ski resorts across the Alps, the recent snow means little if anything for the vast majority of resorts, which will lose most (and in some cases, all) of their snow over the next few days if they haven’t done so already. This is entirely normal for the time of year, when warm and cold airmasses jostle for position over Europe...
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