St.Anton am Arlberg, Austria, fresh snow will be arriving next week!
Where to Ski in January 2026
It has been a strange start to the ski season, with little snowfall accumulating in most places. Despite this, most of the world's larger resorts have the majority of their slopes open.
December was largely dry in the Alps and much of North America, but low temperatures and good snowmaking conditions allowed most areas to open 60-90% of their slopes, albeit usually with a thin base. There are exceptions at both ends of the scale.
There has been fantastic snowfall inland in western Canada, with Lake Louise setting an all-time record for snowfall up to 31st December, receiving more than 5 metres/16 feet. California also received significant snowfall at Christmas after a dry start, transforming conditions there.
In Europe, while snowfalls have not been spectacular, the Pyrenees are enjoying their best season start in years. In contrast, the major resorts of Colorado and Utah have had little snow, with most areas having less than 10% of their slopes open, at best 25%. In Bulgaria, although a recent snowstorm has improved conditions, limited terrain is open; Borovets finally managed to open a couple of runs after Christmas.
Europe
Austria
Austrian ski areas had a mostly dry December after a promising cold and snowy end to November, leaving them in a holding pattern for much of last month. However, many years of mastering snow management meant most well-known destinations still had 70-80% of their terrain open over Christmas week.
Saalbach Hinterglemm and The Arlberg around Lech and St Anton were exceptions, with just under 50% of each open, which still equates to over 150 km of slopes. The country's ski areas start January needing significant snowfall to reach seasonal norms, but there is still plenty open.
The latest forecasts for next week (as we write this) are showing significant snowfall, so fingers crossed!
France
The French Alps had a fairly dry December, but snowmaking and some big snowfalls in late November and early December left good snow depths on upper mountain areas, especially above 1800 m/5906 ft.
High resorts like Montgenevre, Val d'Isere, and Val Thorens, along with most of the big French ski areas, are in good shape with 70-95% of their slopes open. There is currently little off-piste available, and lower traditional ski areas with slopes mostly below 2000 m/6562 ft are struggling.
Some fresh snowfall has occurred, but much of it has fallen in the southern Alps.
There is potentially heavy snow now in the forecast for much of the French Alps as we move into January.
Italy
Italy is gearing up for the Winter Olympics in early February, which will be staged in multiple resorts, including Bormio, Cortina, and Livigno.
Much of the country had a dry December, with the big exception being the southwestern Piedmont region, which saw several pulses of heavy snow in late December. Prato Nevoso reported a remarkable 1.5 m/5 feet of snowfall in 24 hours just before Christmas, while 99% of the Alps remained dry.
Elsewhere, conditions are thin, often relying on machine-made cover, but most major ski regions, such as Dolomiti Superski, still have most of their terrain open despite the lack of snow depth.
Switzerland
Switzerland's conditions mirror those of the rest of the Alps, with most areas receiving relatively little snowfall in December. The best conditions are found at the country's renowned resorts and above about 1800 m/5906 ft. Below that, coverage is sparse, and only around half of Swiss ski slopes are open. The larger resorts tend to have more high terrain, so most are 60-90% open. Gstaad's Glacier 3000 stands out, boasting a 3.8 m/12 feet upper base as we start the new year. Zermatt-Cervinia has opened more terrain than the 4 Valleys so far, likely due to 90% of its terrain lying above 2000 m/6562 ft.
As with Austria and France, current forecasts are indicating snow next week.
Pyrenees
Conditions in the Pyrenees appear better than at this time last year, with good snowfalls from late November through to the end of December, accompanied by low, snowmaker-friendly temperatures. This means snow depths are deeper, and more terrain is open. Resorts with over 100 km of slopes available include Spain's Baqueira Beret and Andorra's Grandvalira, while most areas have 70-90% of their domains skiable as we begin January.
Scandinavia
The Scandinavian ski season has not had a particularly spectacular start. There has been some snowfall, including a significant storm between Christmas and New Year, but bases remain thin, with most areas having only 30-60% of their slopes open. This is partly due to the lack of daylight at these northern latitudes in December and January, with the sun only just appearing above the horizon briefly at Lapland's Levi for the first time in three weeks on January 1st. Thus, centres need to floodlight the runs they do have open.
Eastern Europe
It has been a slow start to the season in Eastern Europe, with most areas lagging behind early-season snowfall and snow depth averages. The best-performing areas, in northern countries like Czechia and Poland, are at best half open, while southern mountains like Bulgaria are struggling, with some centres still closed after a warm, dry end to 2025. At best, places like Bansko have only limited terrain open at high altitude.
Scotland
Scotland's mountain centres managed to salvage the start of the season over Christmas, largely thanks to their all-weather snowmaking systems. After early November, the snow vanished due to mild, stormy weather, but colder conditions have finally returned. Cairngorm, Glenshee, and The Lecht have each opened small areas built mostly on machine-made snow, with Cairngorm also receiving a light top-up from natural snowfall. Glencoe has created a snow zone but is currently offering sledging only; however, it has a chairlift available to speed ski tourers' access to any off-piste high-altitude snow.
The last few days have seen some natural snowfall improve conditions.
North America
Canada
Canada has had a great December, particularly in the west, especially in central and eastern British Columbia and Alberta. Lake Louise initially reported its December snowfall totals as the best since 1950, but later confirmed these numbers were the highest ever! It and ski areas in the wider region have been opening their steep and deep terrain over the past few weeks, while most other ski areas globally have not yet had enough snow.
The Pacific coast had a poor autumn with rain instead of snow, but the last week of December brought significant snowfall, allowing resorts like Whistler to catch up quickly. The East Coast is in fairly good shape after the usual cold weather for snowmaking and some snowfall on top.
USA
The US has experienced one of its most unusual starts to a season in years, with much of the west suffering predominantly warm and dry weather in November and December. This has meant many areas could not open at all, while most big-name resorts only have 1-10% of their terrain open during the peak Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday weeks.
Christmas finally delivered a big storm of 1 m-1.5 m/3.3 ft-5 ft to California, dramatically improving conditions there. Elsewhere, smaller improvements have occurred, but most areas in the Rockies still have limited terrain available.
Oddly, ski areas along the southern fringes of America's ski regions, including southern California (Mammoth), Arizona (Snowbowl), and southern Colorado (Wolf Creek), have posted the most terrain open.
It is worth noting that the East Coast's early season has generally been above average, with plenty of classic, bitingly cold, snowy New England days, meaning smaller areas in the east have had better snow and more open terrain than larger areas in the west for much of the early season.
Asia
Japan
Japan's season start has been fairly good, although there have been reports of periods of rain. As usual, Hokkaido has received the most snowfall, with some ski areas on the northern island already exceeding 3 m/10 feet in base depths. Famous Niseko reports about 2 metres/6.5 feet of snow lying at the start of January, with about 80% of its terrain open.