How snow-sure is La Clusaz?

At La Clusaz, 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 (1,800 m; pistes 1,030–2,476 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 11.4 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 12.5 in 1986–2005. Source: Copernicus C3S, Haute-Savoie 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

170Days ≥ 30 cm per season · natural snow

More snowy Christmases than 88% of ski resorts in France 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 (1,800 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	14 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

A low village can be deceptive: there is snow at Christmas in La Clusaz, you just have to look for it above the houses. At mid-mountain, 1,800 m, the holidays were snowy in each of the 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14. On that count the resort in Haute-Savoie beats 88% of resorts in France.

The main caveat: the lower runs

The lowest run at 1,030 m saw not a single snowy Christmas out of 30, and managed about 11 days with at least 30 cm of cover per season. Skiing back to the village over the holidays relies on snowmaking, and you have to ski on the middle and upper slopes: the top at 2,476 m was snowy in 29 Christmases out of 30. At mid-mountain, natural snow lies from 29 November to 16 May in a typical winter, so March snow is realistic in the Aravis too. The nearest neighbours sit lower and fare worse: Le Grand-Bornand gets 20 of 30 at 1,500 m, Megève 19 of 30 at 1,600 m. This is the climate of past winters, not a forecast (methodology). Of the three resorts for Christmas, La Clusaz is the most snow-sure.

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)	1,030	1,000	0 of 30	11
Mid-mountain	1,753	1,800	30 of 30	170
Top (highest run)	2,476	2,500	29 of 30	180

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	170
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	196
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	196
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	29 November – 16 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	15 November – 1 June (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: 172 and 168.

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	12.5	14.0	169	198
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	12.0	13.8	162	194
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	11.4	13.5	153	187
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	12.0	14.0	156	187
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	10.5	13.9	138	175

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: Balme - Vallorcine, Brévent/Flégère (Chamonix), Les Contamines.

The resort

Country	France
Region (NUTS-3)	Haute-Savoie (FRK28)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	96 km
Pistes from … to	1,030–2,476 m
Lifts	51
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