Free data tool

    Snow Reliability by Altitude

    How snow-reliable is your favourite ski resort? This tool scores 24 marquee European resorts on a 0–100 scale using village altitude, peak altitude, slope aspect and glacier access — the four factors that actually predict whether a resort delivers full-season skiing.

    How the score works

    Village altitude (max 50), peak altitude (max 25), aspect bonus (max 10), glacier bonus (15) — combined into a 0–100 snow-reliability score.

    85+ Exceptional · 70–84 Very high · 55–69 High · 40–54 Moderate · <40 Variable

    Resort reliability scores

    • Tignes

      France · mixed-facing · glacier

      83
      Very high
      Village2100m
      Peak3456m

    • Cervinia

      Italy · south-facing · glacier

      82
      Very high
      Village2050m
      Peak3883m

    • La Plagne

      France · mixed-facing · glacier

      80
      Very high
      Village2100m
      Peak3250m

    • Saas-Fee

      Switzerland · north-facing · glacier

      77
      Very high
      Village1800m
      Peak3500m

    • Zermatt

      Switzerland · north-facing · glacier

      76
      Very high
      Village1620m
      Peak3883m

    • Val d'Isère

      France · mixed-facing · glacier

      74
      Very high
      Village1850m
      Peak3456m

    • Val Thorens

      France · mixed-facing

      71
      Very high
      Village2300m
      Peak3230m

    • Les Arcs 2000

      France · north-facing

      65
      High
      Village2000m
      Peak3226m

    • Hintertux

      Austria · north-facing · glacier

      64
      High
      Village1500m
      Peak3250m

    • Obergurgl

      Austria · north-facing

      61
      High
      Village1930m
      Peak3080m

    • Sölden

      Austria · north-facing · glacier

      61
      High
      Village1377m
      Peak3340m

    • St Moritz

      Switzerland · north-facing

      60
      High
      Village1822m
      Peak3303m

    • Chamonix

      France · north-facing · glacier

      56
      High
      Village1035m
      Peak3842m

    • Alpe d'Huez

      France · south-facing

      54
      Moderate
      Village1860m
      Peak3330m

    • Avoriaz

      France · north-facing

      49
      Moderate
      Village1800m
      Peak2466m

    • Verbier

      Switzerland · mixed-facing

      46
      Moderate
      Village1500m
      Peak3330m

    • Davos

      Switzerland · mixed-facing

      42
      Moderate
      Village1560m
      Peak2844m

    • Selva Val Gardena

      Italy · mixed-facing

      38
      Variable
      Village1563m
      Peak2518m

    • Ischgl

      Austria · mixed-facing

      36
      Variable
      Village1377m
      Peak2872m

    • Cortina d'Ampezzo

      Italy · north-facing

      36
      Variable
      Village1224m
      Peak2930m

    • St Anton

      Austria · mixed-facing

      33
      Variable
      Village1304m
      Peak2811m

    • Bansko

      Bulgaria · north-facing

      22
      Variable
      Village925m
      Peak2600m

    • Megève

      France · mixed-facing

      20
      Variable
      Village1100m
      Peak2350m

    • Saalbach

      Austria · mixed-facing

      14
      Variable
      Village1003m
      Peak2096m

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    Methodology & FAQ

    We combine four factors: village altitude (the most important — every 30m of village altitude adds roughly 1 point to the score, up to 50), peak altitude / vertical range (0–25 points), dominant slope aspect (north = +10, mixed = +6, south = +2), and glacier access (+15 for any glacier coverage). The result is a 0–100 score where 85+ is exceptional (Val Thorens, Zermatt-Cervinia, Tignes), 70+ is very reliable for the full December–April window, and below 55 means snow conditions depend significantly on the specific season.

    Because peak altitude is rarely the limiting factor — most major Alpine resorts have lift access well above 2,500m. The limiting factor is whether you can ski back down to your accommodation at the end of the day, and whether the lower-mountain pistes (often used for ski-school and intermediate cruising) actually have snow. A 2,300m village like Val Thorens guarantees skiing to the door; a 1,000m village like Chamonix or Saalbach relies on snowmaking to keep the lower runs open through warm spells.

    Aspect is the direction the slope faces. North-facing slopes get less direct sun, so snow lasts dramatically longer — especially in spring. South-facing slopes get more sun, so they soften (which is great in March but bad in December) and lose snow faster. Most major resorts are 'mixed' aspect with both, but a few (Lech, Obergurgl, Saas-Fee, Avoriaz) are predominantly north-facing and benefit from it. Cervinia is the famous exception — south-facing on the Italian side but compensated by a 3,883m glacier.

    Almost. Hintertux is the only resort in our list that is genuinely open 365 days a year. Zermatt-Cervinia, Saas-Fee, and Tignes are year-round-or-near (typically closing for 2–4 weeks for maintenance). Sölden, Stubai, and Les 2 Alpes open in autumn and run through to early summer. Pure summer skiing on a glacier is dramatically different from winter — it's short days, hard ice in the morning, slush by 11am, and usually only one or two runs open.

    Indirectly — the score weights altitude heavily, which is the single best hedge against warming winters. Recent studies (OECD, Univ. of Basel) suggest that by 2050 only resorts with skiable terrain above 1,500m and substantial snowmaking will reliably deliver a 100-day season. Resorts in our 85+ bracket (Val Thorens, Zermatt, Cervinia, Tignes, Saas-Fee, Hintertux) are the most climate-resilient. The 40–55 bracket (Saalbach, Megève, lower-mountain Bansko terrain) faces the greatest long-term risk.