Where To Ski in January?

January, along with February and March, is one of the three main months of the ski season. It means that almost every ski resort should be open in the northern hemisphere. That’s about 6,000 areas in around 80 countries.

The only places not open are, usually, those in the southern hemisphere and a handful of ski areas in the northern hemisphere that don’t open until the spring, for late-season and summer skiing. Places like Riksgransen up in the Swedish Arctic Circle, which doesn’t open until March.

January is also the month when bases should be building towards decent levels.  The numbers for snow depth at ski areas typically rise through the autumn and meteorological winter (December to February), peaking at some point in March.

Often the coldest month of the ski season (though these days frequently not THAT cold, except perhaps in Lapland and parts of Northern and Eastern North America, although it can be anywhere) we are also past the shortest day so there’s gradually a little more daylight each day in the northern hemisphere.

For those booking a holiday, January is a tale of two halves, one small at the start, the other big – most of the month. The first few days of the season are part of ‘New Year’s Week’ when ski areas are in the most demand and prices are driven up to the highest of the winter.  But then once New Year’s week is behind us January is one of the quietest months of the year, usually with some of the cheapest prices of the season.

Booking a January Ski Holiday

What all of the above means is that January should be a safe month to book your ski holiday just about anyway.  The snow should be good and prices lower than most of the rest of the season.

It has advantages over other months in that you’re more likely to have better snow conditions than almost any other month, because there should be good cover by now (a safer bet than December), the snow is most likely to be of high quality, because it should stay colder and the slopes should be quieter as fewer people book holidays in January. So lift queues less likely.

Quieter resorts also translates to it being easier to get a table in a restaurant, less busy ports,  airports and roads.

Against these positives January is cold and dark – which is good news for snow but not so much if you don’t like your ski holiday to be extra cold and you like your sunshine fix on the slopes as much as fresh powder.

If you’re looking for a throbbing apres ski scene, that’s also a little less likely in January!

One of the reasons fewer people book ski holidays in January is that few countries have school holidays this month, so you’re less likely to see many children of school age on the slopes or in resort too.

January Extremes

We can only talk about ‘usual January conditions” because no one know what will happen with the weather in the mountains one week to the next let alone one season to the next.

Januarys in the Alps in the 2000s have included poor snowfall seasons when little snow had arrived by New Year and many resorts had only limited terrain open at the start of the month. We have also had Januarys when huge snowfalls have blocked access to resorts and closed slopes completely due to huge avalanche danger. The month has also seen periods when ultra-low temperatures, typically in the -30s Celsius, has led to ski areas in  Canada closing for a few days while the coldest temperatures occur.  You can never know for sure.  But 99.99% of Januarys in most resorts you’ll be fine!

Big Events

Although the biggest events in snow sports like the World Championships every two years and the Winter Olympics and Paralympics are in February and Match, January does see some big events which do push up prices and crowding in some famous resorts, although they’re also great fun to be a part of.

The annual Lauberhorn World Cup Downhill ski race takes place in Wengen, the Hahnemkamm in Kitzbühel, the night slalom race in Schladming and the Inferno in Mürren.

Blue Monday

In 2005 Ski Travel published research they said showed the “most depressing day of the year”  was a Monday in January.  Usually the third Monday of the month but in subsequent years the second or fourth Monday had been chosen. The idea is that ‘Blue Monday’ follows the excesses of Christmas and new year when we all face up to our over indulging in the cold, dark, wet days of British midwinter.

So if you can get away to the slopes in January, paying less, finding the slopes quieter and the snow probably in its best condition of the season, that’s another reason to hit the slopes in Jan if you can.

 

For the latest snow forecast and updates on where is best to ski now, as well as ski news, gear reviews and resort spotlights, you can check out our regular podcast here Apple | Spotify | Podcasts or search The White Out on your chosen podcast directory.