The secret to choosing a snow-sure ski resort this winter

Nobody wants to go on a ski holiday without any snow. Not only is the white stuff a key aesthetic to the perfect winter wonderland, it’s imperative to actually being able to spend your days on the slopes skiing or snowboarding.

Last winter, holiday spirits were dampened when mild temperatures and rain forced some low-lying resorts to temporarily shut down operations on the pistes. By contrast, this winter’s ski season in Europe has started with bumper snowfall in many resorts – however the risk of high temperatures can always be cause for concern. All is a reminder of the effects changing weather patterns are having on the future of ski holidays.

Travellers’ behaviour reflects just how important good snow cover is to a happy holiday. According to research carried out by the Mountain Trade Network (MTN), resort altitude (and the associated guarantee of snow) is the third most important factor for Britons when booking a ski holiday (marginally behind ski area size, and price). It’s importance has skyrocketed in the past three years, according to historic MTN data.

Luckily, it’s something the ski industry has been preparing for. British-run VIP Ski no longer offers packages to resorts lower than 1,500m – to ensure its customers will have ski-to-the-door conditions – while the likes of Crystal Ski Holidays, Inghams and Club Med now have policies that guarantee against poor snow cover and closed slopes. The latter, in its most recent customer survey, found 81 per cent of people would be more likely to book a holiday with an operator offering a snow guarantee. Under these terms and conditions customers are offered the chance to move their plans to an alternative (open) resort, to ensure they can ski, or to cancel and claim credit towards a later departure.

Now, more than ever before, it pays to know how to choose a ski resort where snow is almost always guaranteed, whatever the season throws at us.

Five tips for finding a snow-sure resort

Aim high

Heading high is one of the single most important factors for guaranteed snow conditions. Every 1,000m you ascend equates to an estimated drop in temperature of 9.8°C if clear and 6°C if cloudy; every metre higher means you are that much further above the freezing level – the point where rain (one of the worst words in a skiers’ lexicon) turns to snow (one of the most positive). Be warned, experts are warning, as ski resorts battle the impacts of climate change, that the freezing level will continue to rise in altitude. 

The French resort of Val Thorens is the loftiest village in Europe (2,300m) with access to some of its highest slopes, up to 3,230m. It’s one of the best bankers for snow but any resort with slopes up to 3,000m is a good bet. 

Glacial good luck

Glaciers go hand in hand with high-altitude resorts. These gigantic blocks of ice, which can be over 100m deep, are excellent at preserving snow once fallen, and when mostly scraped off are still useful for perfecting skiing-on-ice skills.

The highest glacier skiing in Europe, the Plateau Rosa at 3,500m, accessed from Zermatt in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy, offers 21km of prepared pistes. Other notable resorts with glaciers include Solden and Hintertux in Austria, Saas-Fee in Switzerland, and Tignes and Les Deux Alpes in France. The super-keen can be found honing their skills on training courses hosted on the most snow-sure glaciers during the summer and autumn months, if snow levels allow, and their snow-sure qualities make them enduringly popular in winter too.

North face, happy face

We all know the benefits of a south-facing garden as it gets more sunshine and the same principle holds true for a ski resort’s pistes. Lovely though it is to bask on sun-drenched slopes, it’s not good for snow quality – unless it’s toe-curlingly cold and then it really doesn’t matter. Since north-facing slopes aren’t affected by the sun, conditions remain much more consistent and the snow remains in better nick for longer, especially late in the season. The problem is, most piste maps rarely reveal the orientation of the slopes – you need a proper chart to assess accurately.

Location, location, location

Some destination have lucked out with benign weather systems. Japanese resorts, especially those on the north island of Hokkaido, are a good example. They are not high, don’t have glaciers and are not overly endowed with north-facing slopes. What they do have is geographical good fortune.

Wind blows from Siberia, hits the Sea of Japan then dumps up to 15m a year of the lightest, fluffiest snow known to humankind. The Utah resorts of Alta and Snowbird have a similar annual snowfall, thanks to a similar effect. Most of Utah’s storm systems come from the Pacific ocean but local geography has an impact too. The Great Salt Lake, north west of the city, warms the approaching air and aids moisture. The warm air rises, cools and starts to drop its snow - a phenomenon known as Lake-effect snow. Resorts in North America could be among those that benefit from the El Niño winter – with predictions of record-breaking snow levels.

Faking it

Snow-making has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 20 years and many resorts have invested millions in the latest technology, which is both reliable and sustainable. Resorts in the Italian Dolomites are a great example where almost all of its 1,200km of pistes are covered by snow cannons, if the real stuff comes up short. So long as it’s cold enough, there will be snow.