How snow-sure is Courmayeur?

At Courmayeur, there was enough natural snow at Christmas in 30 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 (2,000 m; pistes 1,196–2,749 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 11.6 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 13.3 in 1986–2005. Source: Copernicus C3S, Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste 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

30 of 30Snowy Christmases · natural snow

30 of 30Snowy Christmases · with snowmaking

167Days ≥ 30 cm per season · natural snow

More snowy Christmases than 92% of ski resorts in Italy and than 87% 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 (2,000 m): none.

Every winter in numbers

Winter	Days ≥ 30 cm, natural snow	Days ≥ 30 cm, with snowmaking
1984/85	10 of 14	14 of 14
1985/86	14 of 14	14 of 14
1986/87	14 of 14	14 of 14
1987/88	14 of 14	14 of 14
1988/89	13 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	14 of 14	14 of 14
1993/94	14 of 14	14 of 14
1994/95	12 of 14	14 of 14
1995/96	14 of 14	14 of 14
1996/97	14 of 14	14 of 14
1997/98	14 of 14	14 of 14
1998/99	14 of 14	14 of 14
1999/00	14 of 14	14 of 14
2000/01	13 of 14	14 of 14
2001/02	14 of 14	14 of 14
2002/03	14 of 14	14 of 14
2003/04	14 of 14	14 of 14
2004/05	14 of 14	14 of 14
2005/06	14 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	14 of 14	14 of 14
2013/14	14 of 14	14 of 14

Courmayeur is snow-sure at Christmas: at mid-mountain, 2,000 m, there was enough snow for all 30 Christmases over 1984/85–2013/14, and on that count the resort beats 92% of Italy’s resorts. Days with at least 30 cm averaged 167 per season both in the first half of the series and in the second, with no decline at all.

Snow up top, not at the base

The lowest run at 1,196 m was snowy in only 7 of 30 Christmases, while the highest run at 2,749 m was in all 30, so festive skiing in the Aosta Valley happens up top, and the descent to the base relies on snowmaking. At mid-mountain, natural snow cover in a typical winter lies from 1 December to 15 May. The resorts around Mont Blanc show the same tally: La Thuile 30 of 30 at 2,000 m, Brévent/Flégère (Chamonix) 30 of 30 at 1,800 m. Models for 2041–2060 (RCP4.5) give 11.6 snowy Christmas days out of 14 against 13.3 in the model reference 1986–2005; this is a climate scenario, not a forecast (methodology). For a Christmas in Italy, Courmayeur is one of the safest bets.

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)	1,196	1,200	7 of 30	75
Mid-mountain	1,973	2,000	30 of 30	167
Top (highest run)	2,749	2,700	30 of 30	185

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	167
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	195
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	193
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	1 December – 15 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	11 November – 26 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)

Christmases with enough natural snow: 15 of 15 in 1984/85–1998/99, 15 of 15 in 1999/2000–2013/14. Snow days (≥ 30 cm) per season on average: 167 and 167.

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	13.3	14.0	162	193
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	12.3	13.9	154	187
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	11.6	13.9	146	181
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	12.1	14.0	145	179
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	11.5	14.0	134	169

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.

Same numbers as

The data describe a region and a 100 m height band, not individual runs. These resorts lie in the same region at the same mid-mountain band: Antagnod, Champorcher, Crévacol, La Thuile ski.

The resort

Country	Italy
Region (NUTS-3)	Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste (ITC20)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	42 km
Pistes from … to	1,196–2,749 m
Lifts	24
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