Bumper snowfall arrives in the Alps, as ski resorts open early for winter
Nerves have been jangling in the Alps over the past fortnight, with dry and sunny weather dominating the forecast. While conditions have been pleasant on the slopes of the glacier and snow-farmed ski areas already open in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Scandinavia, with the main ski season rapidly approaching, lower temperatures for snowmaking and natural snowfall have been urgently needed.
Thankfully, the cold and snow have arrived over the past 24 hours, most noticeably in the Western Alps of France, Italy and Switzerland, with snowfall as far south as the Pyrenees, where the season is due to start at the end of this month.
In further good news, a much more serious snowfall is expected early next week, with several feet of snow on Monday and Tuesday. If that arrives as forecast, it will be perfectly timed for the start of the French ski season at the end of next week, with Tignes and Val Thorens lined up to get their lifts spinning.
In the areas already in operation, more terrain continues to open. Austria’s Sölden and Hintertux glaciers, as well as the cross-border Zermatt-Cervinia ski area, have roughly 30km of runs open – the biggest skiable areas in the Alps at present. Obergurgl in Austria and Verbier in Switzerland are among the resorts planning to open this week.
Skiing is already underway at Kitzbühel, Mürren and Adelboden thanks to snow-farming efforts (stockpiling snow from last winter). Several resorts in Scandinavia use the same technique and have been open for over a month already, including Finland’s leading resort Levi, where the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup tour arrives this weekend.
Across the Atlantic ski regions in Western North America are having a much less stressful start to the season with some areas in Canada’s British Columbia posting over 1.2 metres of pre-season snowfall. Dozens of areas are already open, some getting their lifts spinning earlier than expected, due to above-average snow depths.
There are nine ski areas open in Colorado, including Breckenridge and Winter Park, with Vail, set to start the season on November 15. Centres are also open in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah, with unusually heavy early snowfalls in the southerly states of Arizona and New Mexico.
Below we outline the opening dates for the world’s leading ski resorts and how the snow is shaping up ahead of the season.
Skip ahead to your favourite destination:
America
Aspen: November 28
Beaver Creek: November 27
Big Sky: November 27
Breckenridge: November 8
Copper Mountain: November 8
Crested Butte: November 27
Heavenly: November 22
Jackson Hole: November 29
Keystone: November 2
Killington: “As soon as conditions allow”
Mammoth: November 15
Palisades: November 27
Park City: November 22
Solitude: November 15
Telluride: November 28
Vail: November 15
How’s the snow looking?
The forecast La Niña weather system appears to be bringing promising news to the west with good early snowfalls in the Rockies and Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington state and Canada’s British Columbia), with resorts opening early or on schedule. Most of the bigger resorts are aiming to open over the coming fortnight, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday period. The news has been less positive in New England, with November bringing record high temperatures to the East Coast. Temperatures there have now dropped significantly and snowmaking is underway at many resorts, including the region’s largest, Killington in Vermont.
Find more of the best resorts in America in our guide.
Canada
Banff Norquay: November 16
Big White: November 28
Jasper: November 22
Kicking Horse: December 6
Lake Louise: November 6
Revelstoke: December 30
Sun Peaks: November 16
Tremblant: November 22
Whistler Blackcomb: November 22
How’s the snow looking?
It continues to look like a promising start to the season in Western Canada with Alberta and British Columbia – both in the La Niña sweet spot – expecting colder-than-average temperatures and greater-than-average precipitation. The season is underway in Alberta, with BC, which has reported the most snow in North America so far this month, seeing Sun Peaks the first to open on November 16. The continent’s largest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, opens on November 22.
Find more of the best resorts in Canada in our guide.
France
Alpe d’Huez: November 30
Avoriaz: December 13
Chamonix: November 30
Courchevel: December 6
Flaine: December 14
La Plagne: December 14
La Rosière: December 14
Les Arcs: December 14
Les Deux Alpes: November 30
Les Gets: December 14
Les Menuires: December 7
Megeve: December 7
Méribel: December 7
Morzine: December 14
Serre Chevalier: December 7
Tignes: November 23
Val d’Isere: November 30
Val Thorens: November 23
How’s the snow looking?
France remains the only major Alpine ski nation where nowhere has opened for skiing yet. Despite reports, this isn’t due to recent autumn weather, but an an earlier decision by ski areas like Les 2 Alpes and Tignes to stop trying to open in September or October. The French season is due to start at the end of next week and the timing may be perfect if the current forecast for heavy snowfall, particularly favourable to the French Alps, comes to fruition.
Find more of the best resorts in France in our guide.
Austria
Bad Gastein: November 29
Ischgl: November 29
Kitzbühel: November 9
Lech: December 4
Mayrhofen: December 6
Obergurgl: November 14
Obertauern: November 23
Sölden: September 27
Saalbach: November 29
St Anton: December 4
Zell am See: October 12
How’s the snow looking?
Austria still has the most ski areas open of any European country, thanks to its seven glacier centres and resorts like Kitzbühel using snow-farming to open early – next is Obergurgl, with its high altitude slopes. The country has had a dry and sunny November to date, but temperatures are now dropping with the freezing level finally heading down to valley floors and snow forecast early next week.
Find more of the best resorts in Austria in our guide.
Switzerland
Andermatt: November 16
Crans-Montana: November 29
Davos: November 22
Engelberg: November 2
Grindelwald: November 16
Gstaad: November 9
Laax: November 30
Saas-Fee: July 13
St Moritz: October 19
Verbier: November 16
Wengen: November 16
Zermatt: Year Round
How’s the snow looking?
A number of major Swiss ski resorts already have at least some terrain open, including Engelberg, Gstaad, Mürren, Saas-Fee, St Moritz and Zermatt. There has been more than a fortnight of dry, sunny weather with the freezing point staying stubbornly above 2,000m. That’s now changing with some snow in the west, freezing temperatures down into valleys and much more snow forecast next week.
Find more of the best resorts in Switzerland in our guide.
Italy
Bormio: November 30
Cervinia: October 26
Cortina d’Ampezzo: November 29
Courmayeur: November 30
La Thuile: November 30
Livigno: November 30
Madonna di Campiglio: November 23
Passo Tonale: November 23
Sauze d’Oulx: November 30
Val Gardena: December 5
How’s the snow looking?
Italy has been in something of a holding pattern for several weeks with centres that had planned to open by now pushing back to later in November, as they awaited snowfall and colder temperatures. That is now arriving, and Sulden, which offers slopes above 3,000m, will now open this weekend. With lower temperatures and snow forecast it’s starting to look more promising for the bigger centres planning to open over the next few weekends .
Find more of the best resorts in Italy in our guide.
Eastern Europe, Spain and Andorra
Bansko (Bulgaria): December 14
Borovets (Bulgaria): December 13
Baqueira Beret (Spain): November 23
Jasna (Slovakia): November 30
Pas de la Casa (Andorra): November 30
Sierra Nevada (Spain): November 30
Soldeu (Andorra): November 30
How’s the snow looking?
There’s nowhere open yet in southern or Eastern Europe (in line with projected opening dates), but some promising signs include continuing snowfalls in the Pyrenees and cold enough temperatures for overnight snowmaking at ski areas, including Bansko in Bulgaria.
This article was first published in September 2023 and has been revised and updated.
