Where Are the Most Snow-Sure Resorts in the World?

The ski season is upon us – and thrill-seekers of all experiences will be gearing up to take on mountainous terrains, challenging slopes, and trips of a lifetime, some for the very first time, but out of these locations where are you most likely to find optimal skiing conditions? To determine this, we analysed 158 ski resorts across the European and North American continents to find out which resorts stand out above the rest using a wide range of historical data. From a combination of statistics including snowfall data and altitude data, we were able to crown our top 15 snow-sure resorts below.

For additional insight into the ski conditions of each resort, we also explored the best weeks to go skiing to get bluebird skiing conditions. Whilst our research has primarily focused on the snowfall and resort altitude aspects of making a resort typically ‘snow-sure,’ there are other contributing factors that help aid a resort in becoming snow-sure. These include north-facing slopes that retain their snow coverage better than the south-facing slopes due to receiving less sunlight and having colder conditions which ultimately lead to greater snow retention.

In addition to this, the overall temperatures of resorts can vary across the globe depending on the geographical and topographical location and proximity to the Arctic Circle. Carry on reading to reveal the results of our study and find out where in the world the most snow-sure resorts are located throughout the different seasons and overall.

The Overall Top 15 Snow-Sure Ski Resorts in the World

To compile our rankings, we used two influential factors in determining a snow-sure location, including the total snowfall between 2007 and 2024 across the ski season (December to April) and the resort altitude – which were both individually ranked based on their statistics from 1 to 158 for each of the two factors.

Higher altitude resorts combined with regular snowfall throughout the season can ultimately guarantee more consistent and better snow conditions and a longer ski season, in some cases extending beyond the parameters of the typical ski season.

The total score of the rankings was then combined together for each resort to give it a definitive ‘snow-sure’ ranking, making them the ideal snow-sure resorts for those wanting the best conditions.

Across the top 15 snow-sure resorts, France features seven, Switzerland five, Italy two and Austria one.

Overall, the most snow-sure resort is Zermatt, Switzerland, topping the rankings with the third highest altitude across the 158 resorts analysed at a staggering 3,820m. Not only this, but the Swiss resort sees more snowfall than any other resort in the world across the ski season with a remarkable 11.5m on average.

Cervinia, which is a connected resort across the border in neighbouring Italy, is ranked the third most snow-sure, given its altitude of 3,480m and total snowfall of just under 9m across the ski season on average.

French resort Chamonix splits the top three in second, with an altitude greater than Zermatt at 3,840m and a total snowfall on average across the ski season of just under 8.4m.

The Top 15 Most Snow-Sure Winter Resorts

When analysing the most snow-sure resorts across the globe, there has to be some consideration for the different ski seasons on offer, with some resorts greater acclimated to offer more snow-sure conditions in different months.

The months of December to February are typically when most ski resorts get their best snow-sure conditions, however with the unpredictable nature of the snow, we analysed the top winter months and the top spring months separately.

Across the winter months, the snow-sure rankings remained fairly consistent, with only a few small movements in the winter period compared to the overall rankings.

Across the top 15 snow-sure resorts in winter, France claims an additional place in the top 15, with the addition of Vaujany knocking out the Italian resort of Champoluc, placing 14^th on the list with an altitude of 3,330m and snowfall across the winter months of more than 4m in total.

Zermatt, Chamonix, and Cervinia all remain in the top three most snow-sure for winter, with each resort amassing a whopping 6.2m, 5.4m, and just under 5m of snowfall between December and February, respectively.

Les Deux Alps, France, sits in fourth place in the winter ranking (from fifth overall), with an altitude of 3,570m and an enormous 4.7m of snow between December and February.

Tignes – another French resort– claims the final spot within the top five, with the French resort’s altitude peaking at 3,456m, and totalling just 6cm of snowfall less than Les Deux Alps, with almost 4.7m of snow in the winter months.

The Top 15 Most Snow-Sure Spring Resorts

Spring snow-sure rankings were taken from the months of March and April, with the latter marking the end of the ‘official’ ski season, and a period where snow can greatly vary depending on geographical location with temperatures beginning to rise and snowfall in general beginning to decline.

Interestingly, just the top two from the top 15 snow-sure rankings for spring remain in the same place from winter, with Zermatt totalling more than 5.3m of snowfall across March and April, and Chamonix receiving almost 3m in this period – this is almost half the snowfall just between first and second place!

Each of the other destinations move up or down the top 15 slightly.

The Swiss resort of Saas-Fee jumps up to third in the snow-sure rankings for spring from eighth in winter, with an altitude of 3,500m, giving the resort the 11^th highest altitude from our research, and a total snowfall of 3.9m in March and April, almost a full metre more than second-placed Chamonix.

Val d’Isère just misses out on a top-five spot, the French resort has an altitude of 3,455m and gathers more than 3.1m of snowfall in March and April, making this an ideal spot for a snow-sure location as the temperature begins to increase.

Italy gains a resort in the top 15 that appears on neither the overall or winter top snow-sure resorts, with Gressoney receiving 2.6m of snowfall in the spring months. This snowfall combined with a peak altitude of 3,550m – the ninth highest overall – jumps the Italian resort into ninth place on our spring snow-sure list. Austria also gains an additional top 15 ranking compared to winter snow-sure resorts. Alongside Sölden in 10th place, with almost 3m of snowfall in March and April and an altitude of 3,250m, is Obergurgl in 13th with a snowfall of nearly 2.8m in spring, and a resort altitude of 3,080m.

Which Ski Resorts See the Most Snowfall?

Altitude is an important element to a ski resort being snow-sure, particularly across Europe where temperatures at the bottom of the slopes are subject to oceanic climates, and resorts can typically only operate in the cooler months.

However, there are other factors to consider such as geographical location and slope orientation (north-facing slopes are more likely to be snow-sure than south-facing slopes) as some slopes will have protection from the elements and sunshine to give consistently good snow cover.

Therefore, we have ranked the snowfall of the 158 resorts analysed, to acknowledge other potential resorts that are known for strong snowfall conditions but place lower in our snow-sure rankings due to slightly lower altitudes than the top-ranking resorts.

Overall Snowfall Across the Ski Season

Unlike the most snow-sure resorts, France doesn’t feature the most in this top 15 with just four inclusions on the list, beaten by Austria with six. This is then followed by Switzerland with three, and Italy and Canada with one each.

Whistler, in Canada (British Colombia) gathers a gigantic 10.8m of snowfall across the ski season due to its geographical location and, combined with 55% of its slopes being north facing, it makes for strong conditions throughout the ski season. It doesn’t feature in the top snow-sure rankings due to its altitude of 2,284m, placing the ski resort in the bottom quarter percentile of the 158 resorts for height but a high percentage of north-facing slopes and strong snowfall ensure reliable conditions.

Austrian resorts Zürs (6^th), Lech (7^th), Stuben (8^th), and St. Anton (10^th) are amongst the top 10 for snowfall across the entire ski season, with each resort gaining near to or more than 8m of snow across December to April.

Whilst they don’t have some of the high altitudes that other ski areas in Europe have, their altitudes still reach over 2,400m each – any slopes above 2,000m can make for strong skiing conditions.

Winter Snowfall Between December and February

If you fancy a venture outside of the European continent in the winter months, Whistler could be the perfect place to go for you, with snowfall reaching almost 7m across the winter months, the most out of any ski resort.

The Norwegian ski resort of Myrkdalen is ranked within the top five, amassing more than 5m of snowfall across the winter months, despite only reaching an altitude of 1,060m, the seventh lowest out of the 158 resorts we looked at. Aided by their own special micro-climate, the ski season lasts until May, making it one of the most snow-sure resorts in Europe.

Generally, the slopes in Norway have a much lower skiing altitude than resorts across Europe, however altitude is not as important here. Being in Northern Europe, consistently low temperatures ensure the snow conditions are strong across the season.

A prime example is the ski resort of Voss, despite having an altitude of just 917m, it regularly has skiing all the way until the end of April.

There are several other resorts that feature strong individual months of snowfall across the winter months, but fail to break into the top 15 most snow-sure for the winter season due to their resort altitudes, including Flaine in France, which ranks fifth for snowfall in December, however its resort height of 2,500m means it misses out in the snow-sure rankings.

Jackson Hole in the USA (Wyoming) is another resort that features prominent snowfall in a single month, in February it has the joint fifth most snowfall, however, narrowly misses out on a top 15 winter snow-sure ranking by one place in 16^th.

Spring Snowfall Between March and April

Snowfall levels across ski resorts tend to reduce as temperatures increase heading into the spring months of March and into April – however there are many resorts that still feature good snow conditions for skiing towards the later part of the season.

In Austria, the resort of Obergurgl features an altitude of 3,080m and an average snowfall of 2.75m in the spring months of March and April, making it a popular choice amongst skiers to get the conditions they want towards the final months of the ski season.

The resorts of Zermatt, Chamonix and Val d’Isère all have strong snowfall in the spring months and, combined with a high percentage of their slopes being north-facing, they offer some of the most resilient slopes across Europe.

According to a recent report, over half (52%) of Zermatt’s slopes are north-facing, with Chamonix and Val d’Isère having 50% and 46% of their slopes north-facing respectively. Having such a large area of north-facing slopes ensures they will not be affected by the sun and despite warmer temperatures the snow conditions will remain much stronger.

A couple of resorts that feature heavy snowfall but don’t quite make the top 15 across spring snowfall include Palisades Tahoe in the USA (California). This resort ranked in fifth place for the highest snowfall in March, with just under 2m of snowfall across the month, beaten only by the ever-present resorts of Zermatt, Whistler, Cervinia, and Saas-Fee.

Passo Tonale in Italy is another resort that ranks quite high for snowfall in just a single month but doesn’t quite make the combined spring top 15, recording just under 1.4m across April, ranking in eighth place in total, narrowly missing out on a top five spot for April snowfall by just 5cm.

Best Bluebird Powder Weeks to Ski

Whilst we know that snowfall is a must when going on a ski holiday, plenty of skiers enjoy a bluebird ski day and ideally a bluebird powder day if lucky enough.

A bluebird day is the term for the conditions that feature sunshine, clear blue skies, and very low winds. The difference with a bluebird powder day is that all these conditions must be present, however this comes the day following a heavy bout of snowfall, leaving skiers with fresh powder and blue skies to navigate the slopes on.

Our research found the optimal bluebird weeks for each of the 158 resorts – with the most popular week being the third week of January for 47 resorts, almost a third (32%) of all resorts.

This was closely followed by 36 resorts the week before (second week of January), almost a quarter (23%) of resorts are most likely to get bluebird skies around this time of year.

The second week of February was the next most popular, with 29 resorts (18%) seeing their best bluebird conditions in this week.

Whilst many resorts see their optimal bluebird days scattered across the winter months, there are a number of resorts that see a high number of bluebird days in certain weeks across the ski season.

Breckenridge in the USA (Colorado) sees an average of 4.7 bluebird days in the third week of December or the first week of January, the best weeks out of any resort for those ideal skiing conditions.

This was closely followed by Gressoney, Italy and Val Thorens, France with both resorts having an average of 4.5 bluebird days during their best week, the Italian resort during the third week of January and the French resort well into the spring period during the fourth week in March. The Swiss resorts of Saas-Fee and St. Moritz see a best bluebird week of 4.4 and 4.1 days respectively, both in the second week of February, whilst Colfosco and Pila in Italy, and Alta, USA (Utah) all see 4 total bluebird days in their best bluebird week of the year.

Conclusion

Overall, our research compiled the European and North American resorts where you are most likely to find snow-sure coverage across the ski season (December-April).

This includes resorts where you are more likely to see good snowfall coverage and snow quality due to the altitude, and those that don’t attain such heights, but are geographically well-placed to provide more consistent snowfall.

Given that our research is ultimately based on historical data, it is always best to research the type of ski holiday, location, and time of the year you are looking to go, that suits you and your parties’ needs the most.

We offer a comprehensive range of ski holidays for skiers of all experience levels, ages, families, and groups, from the initial point of enquiry to your return journey back home – be sure to check out your next ski holiday today.