How snow-sure is Valmorel?

At Valmorel, there was enough natural snow at Christmas in 21 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 1,219–2,404 m). With snowmaking: 30 of 30. Climate models expect an average of 9.4 such Christmas days with natural snow there in 2041–2060 (RCP4.5), against 10.5 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

21 of 30Snowy Christmases · natural snow

30 of 30Snowy Christmases · with snowmaking

140Days ≥ 30 cm per season · natural snow

More snowy Christmases than 62% of ski resorts in France and than 51% 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): 1984/85, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1997/98, 2000/01, 2004/05, 2013/14.

Every winter in numbers

Winter	Days ≥ 30 cm, natural snow	Days ≥ 30 cm, with snowmaking
1984/85	8 of 14	14 of 14
1985/86	14 of 14	14 of 14
1986/87	1 of 14	14 of 14
1987/88	14 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	14 of 14	14 of 14
1993/94	8 of 14	14 of 14
1994/95	7 of 14	14 of 14
1995/96	14 of 14	14 of 14
1996/97	14 of 14	14 of 14
1997/98	2 of 14	14 of 14
1998/99	14 of 14	14 of 14
1999/00	14 of 14	14 of 14
2000/01	6 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	6 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	8 of 14	14 of 14

Among the Tarentaise resorts, Valmorel is weaker than its neighbours for snow at Christmas: at mid-mountain, 1,800 m, natural snow was enough for the holidays in 21 of 30 winters (1984/85–2013/14), just below the snow-sure threshold of 25. With typical modelled snowmaking it comes out at 30 of 30, and according to OpenStreetMap snow cannons cover 17 km of the resort's pistes.

The record improved, but the neighbours are ahead

Misses became fewer over time: in 1984/85–1998/99 there were 9 snowy Christmases out of 15, in 1999/2000–2013/14 already 12 out of 15. In a typical winter, continuous natural cover settles by 10 December and holds until 2 May. Within the ski area the difference is noticeable: the lowest run at 1,219 m collected 14 snowy Christmases out of 30, the highest at 2,404 m 27. Next door in the Three Valleys the count is higher: Méribel has 28 of 30, Courchevel 29. The numbers describe the climate of past winters; for fresh snow, see the resort's snow report (methodology). If snow at Christmas matters to you, go for Méribel or Courchevel; Valmorel is more reliable from January.

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)	1,219	1,200	14 of 30	71
Mid-mountain	1,811	1,800	21 of 30	140
Top (highest run)	2,404	2,400	27 of 30	168

The whole season

Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), Natural snow	140
Days with ≥ 30 cm (average), With snowmaking	177
Days with ≥ 5 cm of natural snow (average)	174
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, Natural snow	10 December – 2 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)
Typical continuous snow cover ≥ 30 cm, With snowmaking	17 November – 16 May (Winters with a continuous cover: 30/30)

Christmases with enough natural snow: 9 of 15 in 1984/85–1998/99, 12 of 15 in 1999/2000–2013/14. Snow days (≥ 30 cm) per season on average: 141 and 138.

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	10.5	14.0	137	175
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2021–2040	8.9	13.4	130	173
Scenario RCP4.5 (medium emissions) 2041–2060	9.4	13.4	121	165
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2021–2040	9.0	13.9	120	164
Scenario RCP8.5 (high emissions) 2041–2060	7.8	13.6	109	156

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: Albiez-Montrond, La Rosière, Les Sybelles.

The resort

Country	France
Region (NUTS-3)	Savoie (FRK27)
Pistes (OpenStreetMap)	74 km
Pistes from … to	1,219–2,404 m
of which with snowmaking (OSM)	17 km
Lifts	33
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