How snow-sure is La Plagne?

At La Plagne, 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 (2,100 m; pistes 1,217–3,058 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 12.3 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 13.7 in 1986–2005. Source: Copernicus C3S, 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

194Days ≥ 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 (2,100 m): none.

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	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	14 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	14 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

Not a single Christmas without natural snow: at mid-mountain in La Plagne, 2,100 m, the holidays were snowy in every one of the winters 1984/85–2013/14, 15 of 15 in both halves of the record. On that count the resort beats 88% of resorts in France and 87% of the 690 in Europe.

Season from November to May

In a typical winter the continuous natural snow cover lies from 20 November to 30 May, and days with at least 30 cm average 194 per season, so spring skiing in Paradiski is a realistic proposition here. There is one weak spot: the lowest run at 1,217 m was snowy in only 14 Christmases out of 30, and the descent to the lower villages over the holidays does not always run on natural snow. For comparison, neighbouring Les Arcs at 2,200 m manages 24 of 30, and Méribel in the Three Valleys 28 of 30. Models for 2041–2060 (RCP4.5) give 12.3 snowy Christmas days out of 14 against 13.7 in the model reference 1986–2005 (methodology); this is a scenario, not a forecast. For a snowy Christmas in France, La Plagne is one of the best choices.

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)	1,217	1,200	14 of 30	71
Mid-mountain	2,137	2,100	30 of 30	194
Top (highest run)	3,058	3,000	26 of 30	181

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	194
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	214
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	211
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	20 November – 30 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	11 November – 13 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: 199 and 189.

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	13.7	14.0	193	217
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	12.7	13.7	186	211
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	12.3	13.6	175	204
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	13.4	14.0	177	203
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	12.5	14.0	163	192

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: Aussois, Espace Haute Maurienne Vanoise, Galibier-Thabor, Sainte-Foy Tarentaise, Valfréjus.

The resort

Country	France
Region (NUTS-3)	Savoie (FRK27)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	188 km
Pistes from … to	1,217–3,058 m
Lifts	75
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