The forecast snowfall has arrived in the Alps over the past 24 hours, bringing some of the biggest accumulations of 2024 so far, with more to come over the next few days. A happy skier at Vars in the French Alps is pictured above.
Some ski areas have post as much as 90cm (three feet) of snowfall, although for most it is 15-30cm (6-12″) so far, with the biggest falls on higher slopes. Verbier was one of those reporting a foot (30cm) of fresh snow, following a smaller fall earlier this week.
Others posting big accumulations included St Moritz (45cm), Cervinia (40cm) and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, pictured below, which says its has had 60cm (2 feet) of snowfall.
The new snowfall is a welcome refresh of the slopes after a largely dry and often warm first few months of the year. However. most larger destination ski areas still had almost all their slopes open anyway thanks to big base-building snowfalls at the start of the season in November and December.
It also comes as the peak half-term period eases, with tour operators offering some bargains over the next few weeks for those able to travel at short notice.
The new snow also means that the off piste skiing is the best it has been all year, although avalanche experts are warning of probably high avalanche risk on certain types of terrain. Henry’s Avalanche Talk posted this snow report highlighting the likely risks earlier this week.
