Where are the northern & southern Alps?
For the purposes of our snow reports, snow forecasts and daily updates on weather and snow conditions in the Alps, we roughly define the "northern" and "southern" Alps as follows:
Northern Alps
France
- Ski resorts in the Haute-Savoie department:
- Ski resorts in the Savoie department:
- 3 Valleys (Courchevel, Les Menuires, Méribel, St Martin de Belleville, Val Thorens etc)
- L'Espace Killy (Val d’Isère, Tignes)
- Ski resorts in the Isère department:
- Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d'Huez (but note that while the Isère department is technically in the northern French Alps, resorts such as Les 2 Alpes and Alpe d’Huez can equally tap in to both “southern” and “northern” weather patterns)
Switzerland
- All Swiss ski resorts (excluding resorts in Ticino/Tessin, southern Engadin and far south of the Valais), including:
Austria
- All Austrian ski resorts (excluding resorts in Carinthia and Ost-Tirol) including:
- Vorarlberg (Damüls, Lech, St Anton, Warth-Schröcken)
- Tirol (
Southern Alps
Italy
- All Italian ski resorts
France
- Ski resorts in the Alpes Maritimes department:
- Auron, Isola 2000
- Ski resorts in the Hautes Alpes department:
- Ski resorts in the Alpes de Haute Provence department:
- NB. think of Les 2 Alpes as the approximate dividing line between the northern and southern French Alps – it is an example of a resort that can ‘fit’ (climatically speaking) into both the northern and the southern French Alps.
Austria
- Ski resorts in the Carinthia region
- Bad Kleinkirchheim, Nassfeld
- Ski resorts in the Osttirol
- Lienz, Grossglockner
- Note that some resorts (e.g. Obergurgl) are difficult to classify as, although they are technically in the northern Alps, they are capable of receiving significant snow from both the north and the south.)
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