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Top 5 Alpine snow-sure resorts

Is it that time already? After a wonderful summer in Mallorca that seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, I’m starting to think about the coming ski season. My winter home is Zermatt, one of the very best for reliable snow conditions in the early and late season. Indeed, skiing is possible in Zermatt 365 days a year. I’m often asked about the guarantee of snow in any given resort. It’s a very fair question. You don’t want to blow a small fortune on a skiing holiday only to turn up to threadbare pistes, or, worse still, no snow at all. That’s a nightmarish situation, so the ‘snow sure’ question in understandable. As a rule of thumb the higher the altitude of a resort the more chance of good skiing conditions. There is a direct correlation between mountain height and low temperatures. This, in turn, will affect the quality of the snow and how long it will last. Zermatt With the highest groomed ski runs in Europe, Zermatt is one of the first resorts to open for the winter season.  At almost 4,000m above sea level, the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is the highest point in the Alps that can be accessed by cable car. In 2018, the Klein Matterhorn cable car was superseded by a brand new 3S gondola lift which carries 28 people in each of its 25 cabins. With the autumnal drop in temperatures, Zermatt has already had some healthy snow falls on the upper slopes of the Klein Matterhorn where conditions are already looking wintery.  What is more, the skiing currently available is about to be extended with the opening of the Furggsattel chair lift which is scheduled for this month (Oct). After that, skiers can look forward to a further increase in the ski area with the opening of the link with Cervinia (Italy) this October. If you’re planning a December ski trip, you need to be confident that snow is guaranteed. The snow in Zermatt can come as early as October or as late as the end of November. But in Switzerland’s most famous ski resort there is always skiing to be had in early December when many resorts are still waiting to open. Here are a few facts to help give December skiers the confidence to book an early-season trip to Zermatt. Over the past five years, Zermatt has opened its slopes at the beginning of the season with an excellent snow base. Since 2007 the average weekly December snowfall is close to 30cm. That means that in an average December, Zermatt receives 120cm of new snow, with the odds of a powder day on a December trip high at around 45%. Traditional snowmaking requires a temperature of -2°C or lower. For now, it has to be below freezing to produce artificial snow to top up existing snow. The average December temperature in Zermatt is between -1°C on the lower slopes down to -13°C at the top of the mountain. These consistently low December temperatures guarantees snow can be made by all of the 1200 snow cannons in the area. The magic altitude for optimum snowy conditions is over 1800m and around 90% of Zermatt’s skiable area is above 1800m. At this height the temperature remains consistently low and helps maintain the quality of the snow. Zermatt is unusual in that the historical snowfall record has seen even more snow fall in November than in December. Up to 200cm of snow can fall in Zermatt before most ski resorts are even open. The average snowfall in November is two-thirds higher than the December average, which means that by December there is already a good base in place. Lech Often claiming top spot for Europe’s snowiest ski area, this domain is no stranger to good conditions. The snow starts falling as early as September and really piles up throughout the season; we’re talking depths of around 7 metres in Lech and over 10 metres up in Zurs, which would bury most 2 storey houses. The highest, best covered spots are over towards Warth or from the top of Zuger Hochlicht where there are lots of steeps to get waist deep in. With this much coverage it’s no wonder the Arlberg area’s such a huge hit in the world of freeriding. The village of Lech is set at a modest altitude of 1,450m, but each year the resort receives up to twice as much snow as some of its French rivals. The resort shares its local ski area with the smaller village of Zürs next door, and with nearby Warth-Schröcken, which lays claim to the title of snowiest ski area in the Alps, with an extraordinary average of 10.6m each winter. For travelling further afield, heavyweight, modern connecting lifts make it easy for Lech visitors to access the whole Arlberg ski area, which is Austria’s largest interconnected ski area, and includes St Anton and its linked villages of Stuben and St Christoph. The Arlberg ski area has 88 lifts and 305 km of pistes, and also boasts 200km of off-piste runs. A high percentage of Lech’s day visitors are from St Anton who find the neighbouring resort’s terrain much tougher than expected. However, overcrowding is rarely a problem – Lech was the first resort in Europe to cap the number of day passes issued to 14,000 a day. Lech enjoys one of the longest and most snow-sure seasons in all of central Europe. St Anton With nothing but mountains for miles around, St Anton’s sheltered position in the Arlberg region keeps it cool and extremely snowy. The ski area goes up to 2811m on the Valluga, where you’ll usually find around three metre depths by the end of the season. North facing slopes keep the pistes shaded so your skis stay out the slush. The Rendl area is often quieter than the rest and not to be missed. Mother Nature also has a helping hand in the form of 194 cannons, which cover an impressive 95% of the pistes with artificial snow. While the Arlberg ski area as a whole has plenty of blue runs, the skiing in St Anton itself is mostly demanding and ideally suited to intermediates and above, so Lech and Zurs are more obvious bases for beginners. St Anton is a non-glacial resort but is widely considered to be one of Austria’s most snow-sure resorts also famed for its regular bouts of winter sun. With pistes up to 2,811m in altitude, your sure of great skiing conditions throughout the season. Recently the completion of the Flexenbahn cableway linking St Anton to Lech and Zurs created a formidable ski area. Val d’Isere The L’Espace Killy is often regarded as having the most reliable snow in the Alps, primarily due to the extent of high altitude skiing. 60% of the L’Espace Killy’s 300km of slopes are above 2500m. Although it’s on the northern side of the Alps, its proximity to the Italian border means that snow can also arrive from the south-east, a privilege not extended to other nearby resorts such as Courchevel or La Plagne . Throw in a couple of glaciers and nowhere else in Europe can offer such a variety of snow sure slopes for such a long season. Some of the areas pistes are at a dizzying height of 3,455m. Val d’sere is closely linked to Tignes, these two resorts offer drastically different village options but with the same fantastic skiing. State of the art artificial snow creation give arguably the best chance of low season snow in the world. Val d’sere also boasts a glacier ensuring skiing the year round. Tignes The L’Espace Killy ski domain, which incorporates Val d’sere and Tignes is often regarded as having the most reliable snow in the Alps, primarily due to the extent of its high altitude skiing. 60% of its 300km of slopes are above 2500m. It’s then no wonder Tignes is high on the list of snow sure resorts. If there is a weakness in Tignes, it is that some of the home runs, lower down, are quite exposed to the sun and given the heavy traffic, can become slushy in spring. Tignes is virtually tree-less, with nowhere to hide in really bad weather. If you can get over there, the woods above La Daille in Val d’Isere are your best bet for a bit of shelter. If poor snow conditions should prevail on the lower slopes, make for the Grande Motte glacier which nearly always has excellent snow conditions. Below glacier level, the long but shady ‘double M’ run down to Val Claret is also very reliable if conditions are below par. Tignes has the benefit of a glacier so skiing is more or less guaranteed all year round. Danny Frith is Director at SkiBoutique. SkiBoutique is a luxury ski chalet agency based in Switzerland. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

Dan Frith

Dan Frith is the Owner of SkiBoutique and SunBoutique. SkiBoutique was founded in 2011 and has gone from strength to strength. SunBoutique opened its doors for business in 2019. Dan specialises in high-end, luxury ski chalets in the Alps and luxury villas in several locations around the Mediterranean. Dan also ski guides in Zermatt, his winter home. Dan spends his summers in Mallorca so it’s fair to say he has his finger on the pulse of both winter and summer destinations. Dan is very much hands on with his clients and quite a few have become close friends. Dan is always looking for new properties that meet the high bar he has set for both winter and summer accommodation.

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14 Comments

  1. There are few things worse than booking a ski trip and looking forward to it for months only to find that the snow has been late to arrive or has gone early!

    More and more I’m doing my research to find out which resorts are really snow-sure. Thanks for some very useful advice.

    1. Alex,

      You’re right. I allude to your points in the article. Having been in the mountains for several years and having first hand experience, the thing to bear in mind first and foremost is the altitude of any given resort.

  2. Over the last decade I have felt that snow is becoming a lot more variable, you just can’t take it for granted. There’s a wealth of hard-won local knowledge here, much appreciated by those of us who can only snatch a precious week or two on the slopes every season.

    1. Sue,

      Trust me I’m a doctor . . . well. not really, but you get my drift. As I said to Alex above, altitude is key, the higher you go the more the snow and good skiing is guaranteed. There are some stunningly beautiful resorts at the lower altitudes, but if you’ve gone to ski, picture postcard perfect isn’t going to cut it if the snow is sparse, or even worse, non existent.

  3. Dan, you really have got the dream lifestyle, summer in Mallorca and winter in Zermatt. Somehow, I just never thought to plan out such a brilliant way of living.

    I suppose the only problems occur in spring – can you bring yourself to head for the sun when there’s still good skiing to be had – and then the reverse problem in late autumn when the snow is calling you away from a beach on the Mediterranean.

    1. Elizabeth, I know, poor me! I don’t know how I cope. Seriously though, you can have too much of a good thing (cliche No1) and a change is as good as a rest (cliches No2). I’ve found a balanced way to get the best of both worlds. There really are no negatives.

    2. I’ve always had a grudge against the School’s Careers teacher who after 30 seconds announced, “You’re good at maths you ought to be an accountant.”

      Well, it has paid for me to ski a lot and have some good holidays but they didn’t think out of the box to suggest how I could spend my summers in Mallorca and winters skiing.

      At the end of the day I should have been more independent and thought for myself.

    3. Hi Vernon, I told my careers office I liked travelling, so they suggested the Merchant Navy. I obviously paid no attention and suggested maybe they needed a new career. ;-)

  4. This is excellent for skiing fans, especially with he tips about when’s best to go to places like Zermatt to ensure better chances of catching some decent snow. Not sure I’d want to risk the potential disappointment unless there’s a relatively good chance, like 90%+, that the conditions would be good enough so I’d probably want to opt for somewhere like the L’Espace Killy slopes. Can’t say I’ve been skiing in ages so I’d need to brush up first and maybe head somewhere a little less challenging. Which would be the best for chance of snow plus being good for those with rather rusty skills? All of these would make for great photoshoot locations when you’re out of the ski boots too.

    1. Hi Louise, it really depends on which month you are planning on going but generally mid season I would suggest the Portes du soleil. If you’re feeling a bit rusty the terrain is very forgiving with lots of big long blues and rolling hills. It really is a stunning ski area and you can ski from France into Switzerland. The main resorts are Chatel, Les Gets, and Morzine.

  5. First visit to Zermatt Feb 19… WOW!! what a resort. Booked to go back in March. Cant believe I didnt bother making the effort. The Pinnaforinni (sic) bubble is worth ski pass money alone! See you in The Yacht Club mate!!

    1. Hi Gordon, I went to do one season there in 2009, 10 years later and I am still there. It certainly gets under your skin. See you in the Yacht Club, Mine’s a Birra Moretti. Cheers.

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