Sugarbush, Vermont, racked up 70 inches (near 2 metres) of snow in January!
Where to Ski in February 2026
We are already nearly halfway through the ski season and conditions range from good to excellent at most ski areas around the world. Several areas that looked poor a month ago, including slopes in Bulgaria, are now looking pretty good.
Although base depths are a little below average across much of the Eastern Alps, the latter half of January brought significant fresh snow, especially in the Western Alps, and most areas are fully or nearly fully open with decent snowpacks.
So prospects for February skiing look pretty good for Europe, Canada and Japan and parts of US.
The stand-out areas for snowfall are the Pyrenees, Japan and North America's East Coast, all running well above average totals. Several ski areas in Japan have reached 5 m/16 ft bases and one has passed 6 m/20 ft.
The news is not universally good; some areas, notably much of the US Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, are still suffering the consequences of ongoing mostly dry, mild conditions.
Europe
Austria
Austrian slopes have not had much snow this winter and, while cold January temperatures allowed for snowmaking and preserved snowpacks, many big resorts have relied on machine-made cover to open terrain. The average snowpack is about 65% of a normal year.
Most resorts do have the majority of their slopes open and the end of January, plus the forecast into February, has become increasingly snowy while remaining cold.
There's currently up to 30cm of snow forecast for the first two weeks of February, for a number of Austrian ski areas.
France
The French mountains have improved through late January after a prolonged dry spell earlier in the month ended with widespread 1 m+/3 ft+ snowfalls. The past week brought more decent dumps, particularly in the southern French Alps, and increasingly further north. Base depths are generally healthy and most centres are close to full operations, well timed for the busy February school holiday period that begins this weekend.
Our latest forecasts are showing light snows next week, but the potential for heavy snow across a wide area of the French Alps for the second week of the month.
Italy
It has been a big month in the Italian mountains with the first Winter Olympics in Western Europe due to start over the upcoming first weekend of the month. After a dry month for much of the country (offset by some of the biggest snowfalls in Europe this winter in the western Piedmont region), the final week of January has been snowy across Italy, well timed for the start of the Games. Cortina d'Ampezzo, which hosts the women's ski racing speed events, saw its base double and open terrain rise from 50% to 90% over the last fortnight.
New snow should freshen things up around the Dolomites in time for the Olympics, with the Aosta Valley ski areas potentially seeing more snow the following week.
Switzerland
Like much of the eastern Alps, Swiss ski areas are generally posting below-average snow depths, by about a third. There are exceptions, notably Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, which claims a base of nearly 5 m/16 ft as we start February, the largest in Europe and the world outside Japan. As with the rest of the Alps, below-average stats have not greatly affected the amount of terrain open. The final week of January also brought useful snowfalls, adding to big dumps that western and southerly centres received earlier last month.
Light snows likely this next week, potentially with more the week after.
The Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a very good choice for February 2026. Europe's southerly mountain range has enjoyed a cracking winter since the end of November, with more consistent, regular snowfall than the Alps. Base depths are now about 50% greater than average for early February and most resorts are nearly fully open, around 98%. It is the best season there in years.
More snow looks likely over the first half of February.
Scandinavia
It has not been an especially snowy winter so far in Scandinavia, but January saw some catching up and more terrain opened with moderate accumulations, especially in the north and west. What it has been, though, is cold - very cold at times, into the -30s (C) - causing resorts to close exposed lifts and warn skiers to watch for early signs of frostbite.
Apart from better slope coverage and more open terrain, February brings rapidly increasing daylight hours in Finland, Norway and Sweden after the dark midwinter.
Eastern Europe
Conditions in Bulgaria were poor a month ago, with warm temperatures and little snowfall. Since then temperatures have dropped well below freezing and snow has been dumping in recent weeks, so conditions for early February are the best they have been and will make festive-season visitors jealous.
Other Eastern European ski nations that were less badly hit — Czechia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — are also reporting their best conditions of the winter to date thanks to recent cold and snow.
Scotland
It is the best start to a year for Scottish ski areas in the past decade, with a run of consistently cold, snowy weather allowing all four usually operating centres to use more natural terrain than in recent years. The fifth, Nevis Range near Fort William, which does not have all-weather snowmaking, intends to open for the first time in several years from the first weekend of February if preparations go well.
The latter half of January saw many days lost with access roads blocked by drifting snowfall and gales that led to lift closures, but the wintry weather has been excellent for base building. Conditions look good through at least the first half of February.
North America
Canada
Canadian ski areas, particularly in the west, saw heavy snowfall in November and December as well as early January. January has been less snowy but very cold, into the -20s and -30s (C) from west to east at times, so much of the earlier snow remains with lighter top-ups since. Most areas are at or near 100% open, including Pacific coast resorts that suffered a slow season start due to warm, wet weather.
East Coast ski areas in Quebec, Ontario and neighbouring provinces are also looking good after cold weather and some decent snowfalls, leaving most fully open. The exception is Quebec's Le Massif, which ended its season early in January due to a labour dispute.
USA
If the Pyrenees and Japan have had banner seasons, that has not been the case for much of the USA, particularly the west where many destination resorts have had a poor start. Some states are asking, 'is this the worst season start ever?' Colder weather and significant snowfall have often failed to materialise.
It is a nuanced picture though: California, for example, got several metres of snow between Christmas and New Year and resorts like Heavenly and Mammoth are fully open with good cover. There has also been January snowfall in the north, down to Utah, so areas like Jackson Hole are close to fully open.
In Colorado and elsewhere there is still very little snowfall; with snowmaking, careful snow management and occasional small top-ups most areas are at least half open, albeit with thin cover. On the East it has been a good winter if you enjoy traditional, biting New England conditions — there has been plenty of fresh snow and most areas are fully open.
Asia
Japan
Japan is having a sensational season, with January particularly snowy. The final 10 days of last month saw little Seki Onsen, with the world's deepest snow depth, go through the 4 m/13 ft, 5 m/16 ft and 6 m/20 ft base depth marks, getting up to 1 m/3 ft in 24 hours. So much snow, sometimes arriving with bitterly cold temperatures, is not always ideal for skiers - when there is just so much powder it can be hard to move, and snow immersion becomes a danger - but few seem to be complaining.