How snow-sure is Cortina d'Ampezzo?

At Cortina d'Ampezzo, there was enough natural snow at Christmas in 18 of the 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14: at least 30 cm on 10 or more of the 14 days from 22 December to 4 January at mid-mountain (1,800 m; pistes 859–2,739 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 4.8 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 6.3 in 1986–2005. Source: Copernicus C3S, Belluno region.

How it works ↓

Data: C3S UERRA reanalysis, winters 1984/85–2013/14; EURO-CORDEX scenarios to 2060 · calculated 3 November 2026 · Methodology and sources

18 of 30Snowy Christmases · natural snow

30 of 30Snowy Christmases · with snowmaking

108Days ≥ 30 cm per season · natural snow

More snowy Christmases than 55% of ski resorts in Italy and than 40% of the 690 European resorts on this site.

Christmas, year by year

1984/852013/14

Each box is one Christmas holiday (22 December to 4 January): the darker, the more days with at least 30 cm of natural snow. Outlined: at least 10 of the 14 days.

Christmases without enough natural snow (1,800 m): 1987/88, 1988/89, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2012/13, 2013/14.

Every winter in numbers

Winter	Days ≥ 30 cm, natural snow	Days ≥ 30 cm, with snowmaking
1984/85	14 of 14	14 of 14
1985/86	14 of 14	14 of 14
1986/87	14 of 14	14 of 14
1987/88	0 of 14	14 of 14
1988/89	0 of 14	14 of 14
1989/90	14 of 14	14 of 14
1990/91	14 of 14	14 of 14
1991/92	14 of 14	14 of 14
1992/93	11 of 14	14 of 14
1993/94	0 of 14	14 of 14
1994/95	9 of 14	14 of 14
1995/96	14 of 14	14 of 14
1996/97	14 of 14	14 of 14
1997/98	0 of 14	14 of 14
1998/99	0 of 14	14 of 14
1999/00	14 of 14	14 of 14
2000/01	9 of 14	14 of 14
2001/02	14 of 14	14 of 14
2002/03	14 of 14	14 of 14
2003/04	8 of 14	14 of 14
2004/05	7 of 14	14 of 14
2005/06	3 of 14	14 of 14
2006/07	14 of 14	14 of 14
2007/08	14 of 14	14 of 14
2008/09	14 of 14	14 of 14
2009/10	14 of 14	14 of 14
2010/11	14 of 14	14 of 14
2011/12	14 of 14	14 of 14
2012/13	9 of 14	14 of 14
2013/14	0 of 14	14 of 14

You cannot rely on natural snow in Cortina d'Ampezzo at Christmas. At mid-mountain, 1,800 m, there was enough of it over the holidays in 18 winters out of 30 (1984/85–2013/14), while 12 Christmases passed without it, including the last two winters of the series, 2012/13 and 2013/14. Festive skiing here depends on snowmaking: with it the model gives 30 of 30. The EURO-CORDEX models expect 4.8 snowy Christmas days out of 14 by 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 6.3 in the model reference 1986–2005.

Low, high and the best month

The lowest run, at 859 m, was not snowy in a single one of the 30 Christmases and managed only 6 days with at least 30 cm per season. For the highest run, 2,739 m, there is no height band in the data. Its Dolomites neighbours fare little better: Alta Badia manages 22 of 30 at 1,900 m, Arabba 20 of 30 at 2,000 m. These figures describe the climate of past winters (methodology); for fresh snow, check the resort's snow report. Continuous natural snow cover usually lies from 16 December to 6 April, and February and March beat the holidays: if you want snow, travel then.

Bottom, middle, top

Piste heights and Christmases with enough natural snow (of 30); light: snow-sure (≥ 25 of 30)

Level	m	C3S height band	Snowy Christmases	Days ≥ 30 cm per season
Bottom (lowest run)	859	900	0 of 30	6
Mid-mountain	1,799	1,800	18 of 30	108
Top (highest run)	2,739	no height band in the data	–	–

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	108
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	154
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	152
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	16 December – 6 April (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	23 November – 27 April (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)

Christmases with enough natural snow: 9 of 15 in 1984/85–1998/99, 9 of 15 in 1999/2000–2013/14. Snow days (≥ 30 cm) per season on average: 101 and 114.

What about the future? Climate scenarios

Days ≥ 30 cm per season, natural snow – climate-model average

Period	Christmas, days natural	Christmas, days with snowmaking	Season, days natural	Season, days with snowmaking
Models, reference 1986–2005	6.3	14.0	88	152
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	5.5	13.7	84	146
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	4.8	13.8	76	143
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	5.1	14.0	71	139
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	3.0	14.0	60	131

Average of several regional climate models (EURO-CORDEX). Compare the scenarios with the model reference 1986–2005, not with the yearly values above: models and reanalysis have different errors. Scenarios are not forecasts.

The resort

Country	Italy
Region (NUTS-3)	Belluno (ITH33)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	113 km
Pistes from … to	859–2,739 m
Lifts	37
Map	OpenStreetMap

What the numbers mean

“Snow” here means at least 30 cm of snow depth in the model (Crocus) — enough to ski on, not just a white field.
The model works per region (NUTS-3) and 100 m height band, not per piste; north-facing slopes, wind and glaciers are not taken into account.
The reanalysis ends with the 2013/14 winter. More recent winters are not included.
“With snowmaking” is the model's typical snowmaking, not the resort's actual equipment.

How we calculate