Ski France

Welcome to the Ski France page, providing a regular round-up of the skiing conditions and current snow reports for the main ski resorts in the French Alps and the Pyrenees. Over recent years some of the most consistently good piste conditions have been reported at Tignes, Val d'Isere, Flaine, La Rosiere, La Plagne, Alpe d'Huez, Val Thorens and La Grave showing a mix of glacial resorts and those most exposed to the prevailing storm paths. However, in any given week or season the best slope conditions may be found at any of the other high French resorts or at lower elevation ski stations in poor weather.

For off-piste powder, resorts such as La Rosiere, Les Menuires, Morzine, Samoens, Les Saisies, Le Grand Bornand, Montchavin/Les Coches and Val d'Isere have proven among the most consistent either for their regular snowfalls, northerly aspect or for not getting tracked out quickly. Warm moist weather fronts drifting in from the Atlantic can produce significant snowfalls in the French Alps Chamonix, Argentiere, Flaine and Samoens have impressive records) but can also raise the freezing level so your choice of resort can be crucial if you are chasing powder. Check out the reports below for the latest news and the forecasts we provide for different elevations in the resort.

France is one of the world’s top skiing destinations. The best known of the country’s 400 or so ski areas are in the Northern and Southern Alps but there are also several dozen ski areas in the French Pyrenees and in other sectors like the Auvergne and Jura.

French ski resorts have really come in to their own in the past 40 years – later than the other three main Alpine skiing nations.

The post-war plan skiing in France was to help stop the migration of agricultural communities to the cities has been reversed by the country’s efforts to develop ski resorts. They have grown to include the world’s biggest fully lift-linked ski region (The 3 Valleys – which always had a 600km total no matter how many new runs are added); its biggest lift served vertical (at Chamonix) and indeed six of the world’s 10 biggest ski regions. Europe’s highest resort, Val Thorens, is also here.

But it’s not just size but also convenience that led many French resorts to success and ever more people to love to ski France – the original concrete resorts built in the 1960s were not always pretty but they were designed to be functional and give slopeside access to the skiing and all other facilities in a few short steps at a time when most resorts in Europe required a laborious trek to catch a ski bus and then ages on lifts getting up to the slopes.

This decision to build resorts at altitude has paid extra dividends in these years of climate change fears as, with many ski areas beginning and ending 1000 vertical metres higher than many traditional resorts, they are more likely to get natural snowfall when lower elevation resorts get rain, and for it to be cold enough to run snow making machines when lower resorts have air too warm.

Those who are not so keen on this high altitude, purpose-built ski experience however criticise the resorts as soul-less places, artificial communities (they are almost completely empty in spring and autumn) with their captive market charged high prices for a sometimes inferior service. The slopes are also criticised as bleak, being high above the treeline.

Aimed squarely at the family market, French resorts also offer the most comprehensive childcare for babies as young as a few months old at most resorts, and ski kindergarten from three, although they do make children pay for lift passes a few years younger than elsewhere in the Alps and the full adult price from early teens or younger. The family orientation also means that lively après ski is something of a rarity in France.

Although French lift passes for these big ski regions are – except when the Swiss franc is on a high – among the most expensive to ski at in Europe, the French argue that they are still the best value because your extra Euros buy access to far more kilometres of piste and the use of many more fast lifts than at smaller resorts. In any case there is usually a cheaper pass for part of the giant ski area which in any case is equal in size or larger than a ‘regular’ ski area elsewhere.

It is wrong to think however that all French resorts are purpose-built. Chamonix, Morzine, Val d'Isere, Montgenevre (Via Lattea) and many other famous resorts have long histories as mountain and ski tourism communities, some originally spa towns. Megeve was developed in the 1920s as a rival to St Moritz by Baroness Rothschild and it still retains much of the ‘old money’ and more Michelin starred chefs than any other French resort, while Courchevel has become the country’s most glitz resort where the most expensive chalet costs £200,000 a week to rent.

Summer glacier skiing has declined dramatically in France since 2000. There used to be 7 or 8 resorts offering summer skiing but now only three (Tignes, Val d'Isere and Les Deux Alpes) are open briefly in July and August and there’s no skiing at all in France from mid-May to late June or in September. From October to late November Tignes is the only ski area open.

For Brits, France has been the most popular destination for the past two decades taking nearly 40% of the UK market each winter. Fast motorways from the English Channel to the Alps make French resorts the easiest to reach from southern England and it’s also possible to reach many French ski areas direct by Eurostar from London St Pancras railway station. read more...

France: latest snow conditions round-up

Ski resorts in France from A to I

Resort	Webcam (click to zoom)	Top and bottom snow depth	On-piste	Off-piste	Forecast snow in next 3 days (click for forecast)	Weather forecast for 3 days ahead Weather report	Last snow
Abondance					0 cm	Mostly dry
Abries-Ristolas					2 cm	A dusting of new snow
Aillons-Margeriaz		135 cm 40 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 3 Feb
Albiez-Montrond					0 cm	A dusting of new snow
Alpe d'Huez		350 cm 146 cm	Good	Windblown	0 cm	A dusting of new snow Another glorious day	2 cm on 4 Feb
Alpe du Grand-Serre		110 cm 62 cm	Good		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 3 Feb
Ancelle		90 cm 75 cm	Powder	Powder	2 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 31 Jan
Annecy-LeSemnoz		80 cm 60 cm	Packed		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 21 Jan
Arêches-Beaufort		270 cm 160 cm	Good		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 28 Jan
Argentiere		440 cm 200 cm	Good	Varied	0 cm	Mostly dry Lovely weather, perfect ski day	5 cm on 4 Feb
Artouste		25 cm 15 cm	Packed		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 5 Feb
Arvieux en Queyras					1 cm	A dusting of new snow
Auris En Oisans					0 cm	A dusting of new snow
Auron		80 cm 70 cm	Good		5 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 31 Jan
Aussois		100 cm 90 cm	Good		1 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 21 Jan
Autrans		130 cm 70 cm	Good		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 4 Feb
Avoriaz		300 cm 260 cm	Excellent	Wind Blown	0 cm	Mostly dry Clear blue skies, all lifts open	0 cm on 1 Feb
Ax-les-Thermes		150 cm 100 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 6 Feb
Ballon d' Alsace					0 cm	Mostly dry
Bareges & La Mongie		190 cm 130 cm	Excellent	Fresh	0 cm	Mostly dry Another glorious day	20 cm on 7 Feb
Bellefontaine					0 cm	Mostly dry
Bellevaux		75 cm 40 cm	Packed		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 21 Jan
Bernex		80 cm 5 cm	Artificial		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 21 Jan
Bessans Val D'Arc		122 cm 112 cm	Good		1 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 8 Feb
Besse Super Besse		90 cm 90 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 2 Feb
Beuil Les Launes		100 cm 80 cm	Good		5 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 6 Feb
Bolquere Pyrenees 2000					0 cm	Mostly dry
Bonneval sur Arc		210 cm 120 cm	Good	Varied	1 cm	A dusting of new snow Clear skies providing great views	20 cm on 31 Jan
Bozel		25 cm 15 cm	Excellent	Fresh	1 cm	A dusting of new snow Heavy cloud, lots of snow forecast	34 cm on 20 Jan
Bramans					1 cm	A dusting of new snow
Briancon					1 cm	A dusting of new snow
Brides Les Bains		215 cm 145 cm	Good		1 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 17 Dec
Bussang					0 cm	Mostly dry
Camurac					0 cm	Mostly dry
Cauterets		265 cm 20 cm	Excellent	Fresh	0 cm	Mostly dry Another glorious day	5 cm on 7 Feb
Ceillac en Queyras					1 cm	A dusting of new snow
Ceuze Gap					2 cm	A dusting of new snow
Chaillol 1600					2 cm	A dusting of new snow
Chalmazel					0 cm	Mostly dry
Chamonix		440 cm 80 cm	Excellent	Varied	0 cm	Mostly dry Strong winds at altitude	5 cm on 4 Feb
Champagny		0 cm 0 cm			1 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 17 Dec
Chamrousse		160 cm 90 cm	Excellent	Varied	0 cm	A dusting of new snow Another glorious day	10 cm on 1 Feb
Chastreix-Sancy					0 cm	Mostly dry
Chatel		220 cm 102 cm	Excellent	Varied	0 cm	A dusting of new snow Lovely weather, perfect ski day	5 cm on 1 Feb
Col d' Ornon		110 cm 70 cm	Excellent	No snow	2 cm	A dusting of new snow Clear blue skies, all lifts open	40 cm on 31 Jan
Col de Rousset					1 cm	A dusting of new snow
Combloux		245 cm 80 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 31 Jan
Correncon en Vercors					0 cm	A dusting of new snow
Courchevel		205 cm 167 cm	Excellent	Varied	0 cm	A dusting of new snow Clear skies providing great views	1 cm on 5 Feb
Crevoux					3 cm	A dusting of new snow
Dévoluy		90 cm 65 cm	Good		1 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 31 Jan
Drouzin Le Mont					0 cm	Mostly dry
Espace Cambre d'Aze		50 cm 20 cm	Good	No snow	0 cm	Mostly dry Snowing lightly, refreshing pistes	10 cm on 29 Jan
Eyne 2600					0 cm	Mostly dry
Flaine		345 cm 88 cm	Excellent	Tracked	0 cm	Mostly dry Another glorious day	2 cm on 6 Feb
Flumet		240 cm 197 cm	Powder	Powder	0 cm	Mostly dry	on 3 Feb
Foncine Le Haut					0 cm	Mostly dry
Font Romeu		95 cm 60 cm	Excellent	Tracked	0 cm	Mostly dry Clear skies providing great views	45 cm on 6 Feb
Formigueres		150 cm 50 cm	Good	Fresh	0 cm	Mostly dry At last - some fresh snow. It's needed!	20 cm on 29 Jan
Gavarnie/Gèdre		60 cm 30 cm	Packed		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 5 Feb
Gérardmer		45 cm 25 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 17 Dec
Gourette		80 cm 30 cm	Packed		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 5 Feb
Greolieres Les Neiges					3 cm	A dusting of new snow
Gresse en Vercors		155 cm 70 cm	Packed		0 cm	A dusting of new snow	on 3 Feb
Guzet		170 cm 100 cm	Good		0 cm	Mostly dry	on 6 Feb
Hauteluce					0 cm	A dusting of new snow
Isola 2000		82 cm 76 cm	Excellent	Fresh	3 cm	A dusting of new snow Great weather, no clouds in sight	5 cm on 8 Feb