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Go high for the final weeks of the northern hemisphere season; spring conditions, but snow is forecast for parts of North America, and higher mountains in Italy and the eastern Alps.

Fresh snow at Saalbach, Austria, setting up a great start to April skiing.

Where to Ski in April 2025
We're into what is, for most of the northern hemisphere's thousands of ski areas, the last month of the ski season.

Many smaller, lower-altitude areas closed over the final weekends of March, but most of the bigger well-known resorts plan to keep going at least until mid-April - and many to the late Easter weekend (19-21 April). A few hundred will make it through to the end of the month, with some remaining open into May.

It has not really been an epic snowfall winter for much of the skiing world so bases across Europe and much of the US are modest by historical average.

However, most of the big centres have enough to see them through to the ends of their seasons and who knows, this April might mirror the past few and be one of the snowiest months of the season.

There has, however, been a whole lot of snow in Western North America and Japan where spring conditions prevail with the snow lying 3-7 metres deep as we enter April.

Europe
Austria
Austria has some of the lowest-lying major ski areas in the Alps but also some of the highest glacier destinations on the continent - and the differences between these become ever more apparent in April.

Most Austrian ski areas close in the first half of the month, the majority not making it to this year's late easter weekend. In fact, some, including the giant Ski Welt home to Soll, Ellmau, Westendorf and others, already ended their season on the last weekend of March.

Ironically the Ski Welt saw one of its biggest snowfalls of the season – 60cm (two feet), the day after closing – March 31st.

Austria is also home to some famous high-altitude destinations like Ischgl and Obertauern and seven glacier resorts, most of which stay open to May, June or beyond.

Notwithstanding that big dump at the end of March, it has to be said this year has not been a bumper one for snowfalls at low or high altitudes but all remaining resorts have enough snow to see them through to the end of their seasons even in the unlikely event that no more falls in April.

France
French resorts have been posting the deepest snow depths in Europe right through this season although snow depth stats stalled a few months ago and didn't really grow in February and March as they would normally.

The past few seasons have seen France get good snowfall in April and even May, so that may happen again, although there's no guarantee.

Some of the smaller, lower centres have already closed or will do so on the first or second weekends of April, but the big areas keen to have a late season boost with Easter holiday visitors are laying on fun events and keeping the slopes open at least to Easter weekend - and for many of the big names to the end of the month or (Les 2 Alpes, Tignes, Val d'Isere, Val Thorens), into May.

Italy
Italy enjoyed a positive end to March with good snowfalls right across the country's higher ski slopes.

But March also saw temperatures in valleys reach +15C at 1,000m altitudes in the afternoons, so as elsewhere in the Alps much of the remaining terrain open below 2,000m appears as white ribbons on a springtime green background.

Again as elsewhere in the Alps, lower, smaller centres have already ended their seasons or will do so after the first weekend of the month, but the main centres will remain open to mid-month or the Easter weekend. A few, including Cortina d'Ampezzo, Cervinia and Passo Tonale aim to keep going into May.

Switzerland
A similar picture in Switzerland to the rest of the Alps - a below average snowpack but no signs of anywhere having so little they'll be forced to close early and indeed most of the international destination resorts continue to post 80-95% of their terrain open as we start April.

Smaller, lower Swiss ski areas are nearing their natural season end, most on the first or second weekend of April.

A number plan to continue through to Easter or the end of the month and some into May including Zermatt, Engelberg, Samnaun and Gstaad's Glacier 3000.

Scandinavia
Scandinavian centres often get the best reports for snow quality from European skiers each April.

It's no surprise really, as the northerly latitude usually means lower temperatures and there are also long daylight hours.

This winter, as with the rest of Europe, has not been a great one for snowfall in Scandinavia with, again, bases below average.

Here though most areas will be aiming to make it through to May 1st or later.

Although some centres like Norway's Hemsedal have not managed to open all their terrain all season, nor even reach a 50cm base, the biggest ski area, Sweden's Are, starts the month 98% open.

Scotland
Blink and you'd have missed Scotland's 24-25 ski season in terms of ski terrain open with natural snowfall.

Only Glencoe managed to get up to about a third open earlier in the season.

At the start of April, everything is closed, pretty much, other than a small area for beginners maintained with an all-weather snowmaking machine at the base of Cairngorm's ski area.

Glencoe is still officially open and hoping for some late natural snowfall. Glenshee is closed but says it will re-open if there's a big spring snowfall in April.

The Lecht has closed for the season and Nevis Range hasn't managed to open at all, though again it has said it will if adequate snow ever arrives.

Pyrenees
The Pyrenees have not had their best season, although in March things finally picked up and it kept snowing through much of the month, with Andorra's giant Grandvalira passing 200km (95%) of its runs open at last.

So although most centres will probably end their season by mid-April and most by Easter, it's looking like one of the best ends to the season in a while, and certainly, April should provide some of the best skiing this season.

Eastern Europe
Most ski areas in Eastern Europe will be closing either on the first or second weekend of the month. That's if they're not amongst the more than two-thirds of centres in the region, mostly smaller, lower altitude centres, that already closed in March.

There hasn't been much to get excited about over recent weeks in terms of snowfall. Temperatures have been getting as high as +20C in lower valleys, the freezing point well above mountain tops, and the showers there have been often rain or sleet rather than snow.

North America
Canada
Western Canada often comes into its own in mid to late spring and with a cold and snowy March, 2025 is looking like one of those years.

The country's ski areas tend to keep the snow in good condition longer thanks to the northerly latitude usually meaning lower temperatures.

Despite this most Canadian ski areas will end their 24-25 seasons by mid-month. Some, including Banff's three ski areas, Jasper's Marmot Basin and Whistler Blackcomb will carry on through the month and into May.

USA
The western US has had a pretty good snowfall season to date with resorts in the Rockies and on the country's West Coast posting at least a metre of March snowfall, some double that.

It's a less promising picture on the east coast where spells of warm, wet weather have marred conditions there at times.

Most US resorts tend to close in the first half of April, not because the snow isn't still lying metres deep, but because it doesn't make economic sense to keep going.

Jackson Hole, which has posted some of the country's biggest snowfalls is one of those that shuts in early April regardless.

Dozens do continue through to the end of the month and beyond, including Mammoth Mountain, which was posting North America's deepest snowpack, exceeding 5 metres at times, in late March.

Asia
Japan has had an epic season for snowfall with the deepest reported snow depth in the world all winter – 7.9 metres – posted by a ski resort there in the final week of March.

Most resorts have at least a 3-metre (10 feet) snow depth as we start April and many a 4 or 5-metre plus base.

The larger ski areas aim to stay open until the country's 'Golden Week' in early May - so will be open all of April.

Cauterets, French Pyrenees, with great snow this week...

Pyrenees the place to be in Europe, with northwest North America getting the best snow (and quite a bit of it) on that continent.

The Snow Headlines - March 27th
- Snow keeps falling in the Pyrenees giving best conditions as ski areas start to end seasons.
- Europe's most southerly resort (Sierra Nevada, Spain) posting continent's deepest snow.
- Almost no skiing is available in Scotland.
- Most ski areas in the Western Alps post 5-15cm of fresh, but Serre Chevalier reports 61cm.


Snow forecasts worldwide.

Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.

World Overview
It's very much spring conditions across much of mainland Europe at present with wet snow on lower runs, the snowline climbing higher, and precipitation falling as rain on lower mountains too, but still some decent conditions to be found up high and even fresh powder in the Western Alps if you time it right.

It's the southwest of the continent that's again seen the most wintery weather with ski areas in the Pyrenees reporting their best conditions of the season just as it nears its end.

Europe's most southerly resort, Spain's Sierra Nevada, is remarkably now posting the continent's deepest snowpack.

The continent's big ski areas will be open through the Easter Holiday period (excepting those with low-lying terrain).

Across in North America it's a similar story. Here it's the northwest corner, rather than the southwest, that's been seeing lots more snowfall, the East Coast suffering from warm, sometimes wet conditions at times as spring continues to take hold (although there's been quite a lot of snowfall there in the past 48 hours!).

Europe
Austria
More than half of Austrian ski areas have already closed for the 24-25 season, although those are largely smaller, lower centres.

The big destination resorts are mostly hoping to make it through to at least mid-April and a few to the Easter weekend and beyond.

There's been some snowfall reported this week but it's mostly been light 5-10cm totals and generally well above 2,000m (with rain on lower slopes).

Solden described its resort-level snow as 'wet' and its glacier snow, the deepest in the country at 225cm, as powder!

The week ahead looks much the same with some parts expecting heavier snowfall at the weekend.

France

Unsettled conditions in the French Alps for much of the last week, although the past few days have seen a return to more consistent snowfall. However, the snow showers have added up to some quite significant accumulations over the past seven days.

In the Southern Alps, Serre Chevalier reported several feet (58cm) from Friday to Monday. It's one of the areas reporting more than 90% of its slopes open, along with Tignes, Val d'Isere and Paradiski (La Plagne and Les Arcs) among others, but some big areas have dropped to 70-80% open as the season winds down.

The sunshine of recent days is expected to continue until the weekend when a fresh front is likely to bring more snowfall at the weekend.

Italy

One of the better weeks for snowfall this season in Italy with ski areas across the country reporting a snowy weekend, heaviest for most on Sunday-Monday but with snow showers (sometimes falling as rain and sleet on lower slopes) continuing through the week since, interspersed with sunny spells.

Accumulations of up to 50cm over the past seven days have been reported with Cervinia one of the big winners posting 25cm in 24 hours at the weekend.

Sestriere wasn't far behind with 22cm but there were accumulations of similar amounts in the Dolomites too. It's looking drier, sunnier and even warmer for the week ahead.

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas have had similar conditions to the rest of the Alps, with mostly dry conditions, but with some weak fronts moving through bringing small snowfall accumulation to high slopes, especially in the west of the country, rain and sleet at lower elevations.

Verbier noted that it has had over 30cm of snowfall up high over the past week, but 0cm at resort level.

As elsewhere, smaller, lower Swiss centres have started ending their seasons, the better-known bigger, higher centres continue to have most slopes open and will mostly continue through to the Easter weekend, some going on into May.

J2Ski were enjoying the piste skiing (think Spring bases with a thin layer of fresher snow on top - enough for some fun) in Arosa this week, and we'll have a full report on the resort shortly.

Scandinavia

Some good snowfall in Norway over the past few days bringing powder conditions to ski areas including Hemsedal.

Overall it's been mostly dry across the region, with temperatures remaining fairly cool, keeping the snow in good shape.

Most resorts in the region are at 75-100% open with the largest single-area, Sweden's Are, at 98% so the most in Scandinavia.

Myrkdalen near Voss, famous for its freeriding, has the deepest base in the area, the only one over 2m.

Pyrenees

It's been another great week in the Pyrenees with reports of up to 40cm more snowfall.

One centre on the French side of the mountains remarked that conditions were the best they'd been all season, but said that almost no one was there to enjoy it – making it especially brilliant for those that were.

Smaller, lower centres in the region have already started closing for the season.

The region's largest resort Andorra's Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pass del Casa etc) is now posting both the most terrain open (95%/205km) and the deepest snowpack (2 metres) up top in the Pyrenees.

Scotland

No great improvement to the situation in Scotland with plenty more mild late March weather.

Up to last weekend, Cairngorm had runs open in the Ptarmigan Bowl at the top of the funicular but that closed when wet and windy weather at the weekend ended the calmer period last week, breaking up the cover.

Eastern Europe

It's the final week or two of the season coming up for most ski areas in Eastern Europe and there's a definite end-of-the-season feel on slopes there.

The amount of terrain open at resorts is starting to drop although major centres like Bansko and Jasna are stressing the season is still going and Jasna even announced extra terrain open for last weekend.

Conditions have been quite unsettled over recent days with sunny spells and rain/sleet/snow showers.

Temperatures have been down a few degrees compared to recent weeks but have still been up to +10C or higher at lower elevations in the afternoons.

North America
Canada

There's been a bit of an East/West divide in Canada. The West is still seeing low temperatures and more big snowfalls, while the East was impacted by warmer weather and spells of rainfall rather than snow last weekend (although it's got cooler again since).

Whistler Blackcomb has posted one of the world's biggest snowfalls this week, some 80cm, and all across Alberta and British Columbia ski areas have been reporting very wintery weather. There's more in the forecast through the weekend and into next week.

Eastern Canada has been mostly dry since the weekend with plenty of sunshine and temperatures back down to low single figures. There's some snowfall expected this weekend but otherwise, it will remain predominantly dry.

USA

The Pacific Northwest corner of the US has again posted the most snowfall in the world over the past week with several ski areas in Oregon and Washington states reporting over a metre of new snow.

That's put the avalanche and tree well danger levels up high and Mount Baker ski area actually closed for a few days this week when the danger was at its max.

Between the snow showers and further east there have been some springlike temperatures (evidenced by the warm weather at the Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Sun Valley) but overall conditions are excellent, most runs open and the snow is deep almost everywhere in the western US.

In the Rockies Copper Mountain and Winter Park both went through the 300" seasonal snowfall total mark this week.

Over on the East Coast, it was a largely dry and warm week until Tuesday when temperatures dropped and snow started falling with up to 12" reported now in the northern half of the region.

There's more snow, sleet and rain forecast there for the weekend.

Val Gardena, Italian Dolomites, in some spring sunshine...

Snow last weekend in Europe - Alps and Pyrenees, with lots of sunshine since. Lots of fresh in western North America.

The Snow Headlines - March 20th
- Up to 60cm (2 feet) of snowfall in the Alps over the weekend.
- Largest ski area in Pyrenees opens more than 200km of slopes for first time in 24/25.
- Some big-name Austrian ski areas end their 24-25 seasons at the end of next week.
- More big snowfalls in Western North America.
- Second of Scotland's 5 ski centres ends season, another looks like it won't open this season.
- One of the biggest snowfalls in the Dolomites this winter - up to 50cm - over last weekend.



Snow forecasts worldwide.

Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.

World Overview
As we reach the start of astronomical springtime, the final week of winter brought some of the biggest snowfalls of the season to both Europe and North America. The Alps posted several feet of snowfall over last weekend, while some ski areas in California have had over five feet of snowfall over the last seven days. The snow has also kept falling in the Pyrenees, and there's been some fresh snow in Scandinavia as well.

So, there have been great powder conditions in many of the world's ski regions, although there's no escaping that springtime is starting to grip lower slopes. With afternoon highs of +15C recorded, low-lying ski areas in countries like Austria have begun closing down. The vast majority of destination resorts are aiming to stay open well into April, though, with some continuing into May and beyond.

Europe
Austria
There's a bit of an end-of-the-season vibe at some low-lying ski areas in Austria. After some snowfall last weekend (rain and sleet on lower slopes at times), it's been a mostly sunny week with some lower valleys seeing +15C in the afternoons and even +6C at 2,000m at the top of their slopes.

Next week is actually the last of the season for quite a lot of low-lying Austrian resorts including Brixen, Ellmau, Soll and Westendorf in the Skiwelt.

At higher elevations, last weekend's snow totals of up to 40cm brought powder conditions to start the week on the country's glaciers and overnight lows are still dropping below freezing down to the valley floor.

France
France has had a largely dry seven days since being the first part of the Alps to get snowfall in the middle of last week, with higher slopes ending up with 50cm+ of new snow.

That said, it did keep snowing here through the weekend, albeit lightly, giving powder snow conditions to start the week in many areas, particularly at altitude. There were some low clouds and poor visibility as the weather began to clear on Sunday before sunshine came to the fore on Monday across much of the country.

Temperatures have been climbing again in the daytime with valleys below 1000m seeing +15C in the afternoons, but it's stayed closer to freezing up at 1800m, so normal spring skiing realities of better conditions for longer up high are in play.

The giant French ski regions are fully open with most aiming to remain so for at least another month up to Easter, some (3 Valleys, Tignes/Val d'Isere, Chamonix Valley) into May.

Italy
A snowy weekend for Italy as well with several resorts including Madesimo, Madonna di Campiglio and Cervinia posting around 50cm snowfall totals.

The Dolomites, which have experienced a predominantly dry ski season so far, were particularly excited by the snowfall. Val Gardena recorded one of the largest amounts, and many resorts in the area reported base depths surpassing a metre for the first time this winter. Meanwhile, the western Alps also received substantial snow, with resorts there enjoying three days of snowfall and reporting excellent powder conditions.

Although sunny weather returned at the start of the week, more snow is now on the horizon.

Switzerland
Switzerland ended last week with heavy snowfall, with Laax topping the charts at 60cm (2 feet) - one of Europe's largest accumulations this month. High slopes across the country reported excellent powder conditions through the weekend and into the week.

Andermatt and Saas-Fee also received 40cm of fresh snow, whilst Arosa posted a healthy 25cm there.

While sunshine has returned to most areas, the Southeast, including Arosa and St Moritz, remains cloudier with light snow showers.

Temperatures have dropped slightly, with freezing levels around 1900m in the afternoons, dipping below -12°C overnight on higher slopes and staying sub-zero in valleys.

Scandinavia
After last week's snowfall, Scandinavia has continued to experience predominantly cold and sunny weather since the weekend. The main exception has been the far north, where ski areas have seen substantial snowfall.

Conditions are excellent across the region with Norway's Myrkdalen, near Voss, now boasting the area's deepest snow and first to have a base exceeding 2m this season, with deep powder reported.

In Sweden, Åre is nearly 100% open with the most extensive terrain available in Scandinavia.

The sunny spell is expected to continue in most areas over the next few days, with temperatures remaining predominantly below freezing, ensuring the snow remains in excellent condition.

Pyrenees
March has been a great month in the Pyrenees after the region saw little snowfall in the first three months of this season.

It's hardly stopped snowing this month and although falls have been lighter this week, temperatures are cooler than they were in February, the bases the deepest they've been and the region's largest resort Grandvaliara in Andorra has finally reached almost full operation with 95% of its slopes open. That means it has more than 200km of runs open for the first time this winter.

The only thing to be aware of for freeriders and off-piste skiers in that the avalanche danger is up at level 3, the highest it has been since mid-December.

Scotland
A fairly stable weather week in the Scottish Highlands with fresh snow on higher hills and mountains and overnight lows below freezing, but warm afternoons down in the glens.

The consequence of that is that Glenshee has joined The Lecht in closing and won't open again until next winter unless there's a big natural snowfall.

However Cairngorm, with access to its summit now possible again with the funicular back in operation, has re-opened access to the Ptarmigan Bowl with its natural cover.

Glencoe has a small snow play area and dry slope for beginner lessons open still. Natural snow-reliant Nevis Range is yet to open this season.

Eastern Europe
Eastern European centres didn't see the snowfall in the volumes recorded in the Alps, but they did get some light accumulations in the 5-10cm bracket in the Carpathians over the weekend, and there was a little snowfall to ski slopes in Bulgaria at the start of this week.

But really it feels springlike with many smaller, lower ski areas in the region already closed for the season and the big-name, higher resorts battling the thaw.

Major resorts like Bansko, Jasna and Spindleruv Mlyn remain with at least 75% of their slopes open, some as much as 90%.

North America
Canada
Great conditions in Western Canada with most areas reporting 2-3 feet (60-90cm) of fresh snowfall this week and temperatures remaining cold – in the -5 to -10C range keeping that powder fresh.

Base depths have now topped 4 metres in the far west of the country and Whistler Blackcomb reports its slopes 95% open – with most other ski areas in Alberta and BC also mostly open.

There's less good news on the East Coast where it continues to be milder than usual with ski areas in Quebec and Ontario seeing rain rather than snow showers unfortunately, impacting what they can open.

USA
Some spectacular snowfalls in the Western US for a second week running with ski areas in California posting over a metre (3 feet) more snowfall and even 30cm down at lake level at Tahoe.

Further north, ski areas like Mt Bachelor in Oregon were digging out after 90cm (three feet) fell in 36 hours.

So epic conditions but resorts are also warning of high avalanche and tree well danger.

It's been dumping in the Rockies again too with Jackson Hole passing 400 inches seasonal snowfall to date.

Further east there have been some very mild temperatures but most areas remain fully open and a temperature dip with snowfall is forecast ahead of the weekend.

Silverstar, BC, Canada, had another powder day...

Sunny in the Alps, snow in the Rockies and (again) in Japan. Snow in the forecast for some parts of the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees next week.

The Snow Headlines - March 13th
- Snow returns to the Alps with up to 60cm in 72 hours reported in Southern France.
- Snowfall continues and intensifies in the Pyrenees as avalanche risk level rises.
- 2 Feet (60cm) of snowfall in 72 hours for Whistler Blackcomb.
- Warm temperatures in Bulgaria with lower slopes seeing close to +20C in afternoons.
- Scottish ski area calls it a day on 24-25 ski season.



Snow forecasts worldwide.

Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.

World Overview
The weather has turned wintery in the Alps, with a front moving up from the Southwest bringing heavy snowfall that is progressively moving north and east. Accumulation totals have now reached 60cm for some slopes in southern France but its been more like 10-30cm in most areas.

Snowfall has also continued and actually intensified in the Pyrenees, with reports of up to 40cm of fresh in 24 hours on the Spanish side of the border pushing the avalanche danger up to 'considerable'.

Elsewhere in Europe, Scandinavia has had a mostly cold but sunny and dry week, with the snow staying in good condition. Sunny too down in Bulgaria but here it's been very warm, in the high teens, although so far slopes remain open thanks to established snow depths.

In North America, Whistler Blackcomb posted the most snowfall in the world this week, nearly 1.5m (5 feet) over the last seven days.

Japan's Tengendai Kogen Ski Area continues to post the deepest base in the world; now up to 7.8m (25 feet).

Europe
Austria
Whilst the Alps have had snowfall this week, it's been the south and western Alps that have seen the most, whilst Austria's northeasterly location has been slightly drier. There has been a lot more cloud though with temperatures a degree or two cooler, but still in the -10 to +10C range with freeze-thaw conditions up to about 2,500m altitudes the norm.

There have been some snowfalls reported, mostly in the west and south of the country, but these have been more in the 5-10cm bracket on the whole and some areas have seen rain and sleet at lower elevations.

Most Austrian areas have at least 80% of their slopes still open and some like Kitzbuhel and Obertauern remain at 100%. Sunny spells and snow showers are expected to continue through the weekend.

France
France has experienced a snowy week, with significant snowfall over the past few days and more in the forecast.

The southern French Alps have seen the heaviest accumulations, with Serre Chevalier recording 60cm (2 feet) of fresh snow on its highest slopes in the last three days.

Risoul and Vars have also received about 30cm of new snow in the same period.

Across the country, all the major ski regions are nearly fully open, with higher slopes in areas like Tignes, Val d'Isère, Courchevel, and Méribel receiving 20-40cm of snowfall.

The snowy conditions are set to continue into next week, with elevated Avalanche Risk, before milder temperatures follow.

Italy
Italy has seen a relatively positive week for snowfall during what has otherwise been a fairly dry winter season of 2024-25 so far.

Following last week's sunshine, skies have mostly been cloudy, with daily light to moderate snowfalls—most pronounced in the western areas.

The Dolomites, which have struggled with base depths often below 50cm throughout the season, experienced a rare treat of powdery conditions this week. Among the resorts benefiting from this were Madonna di Campiglio and Cervinia, both of which reported 20cm of fresh snow and excellent powder conditions at the start of the week.

However, daytime temperatures continue to rise well above freezing at lower elevations, meaning the finest conditions are found at higher altitudes, while lower slopes occasionally see rain or sleet.

Switzerland
Swiss ski resorts had cloudy weather with light snow this week.

The south and west, including Saas-Fee and Zermatt, received 20-30cm of snow on higher slopes. Verbier reported a 28cm accumulation on Thursday.

Although temperatures in lower valleys reached +10°C, causing some thawing, most resorts report 80-100% of slopes open. More snowfall is expected this weekend before drier weather next week.

Scandinavia
There have been snowfalls this week in Scandinavia, contributing an additional 10-20cm to base depths.

However, high-pressure conditions have mostly prevailed, bringing abundant sunshine to the region. With longer daylight hours, ski centres can now open all slopes with snow cover, expanding beyond the floodlit runs used during midwinter. As a result, more terrain continues to become accessible.

Additionally, temperatures have largely stayed below freezing, ensuring that snow conditions remain exceptional—among the best in Europe at the moment.

Pyrenees
The Pyrenees posted some of the biggest snowfalls in Europe at the weekend with accumulations of up to 40cm in 24 hours reported on the Spanish side of the mountain range.

Andorra's Grandvalira posted 25cm in 24 hours to start the week and has had more snowfalls since. It continues to have the most terrain open in the region, about 80% of its full area and the most its had open all season. It describes snow conditions as 'powder'.

Scotland
Scotland's troubled 24-25 ski season has continued with more very mild temperatures over the weekend melting most of what was left of any hill snow and leading The Lecht to announce it was closing for the season. Nevis Range is yet to open.

That leaves three areas – Cairngorm, Glencoe and Glenshee still open (although Glencoe was forced to close over the weekend by the warm temperatures) and the good news for them is that temperatures dropped to something more wintery and hill snow returned on Sunday/Monday. The problem is a lot is needed before the next warm snap to rebuild bases. For now, each has their small areas of slopes maintained by their all-weather snowmaking systems.

Eastern Europe
Conditions are becoming increasingly challenging in southeastern Europe, simply because its been getting so warm with non-stop sunshine in the Balkans, and there's no real change forecast.

Bansko and Borovets remain mostly open thanks to accumulated snow on higher slopes but it's been reaching +10C even on mountain tops in Bulgaria.

The issues aren't quite so serious further north with ski areas in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia seeing similar temperatures to the Alps and after a dry start to the week rain, sleet and snow showers are now moving in here.

North America
Canada
A great week in Western Canada with temperatures staying low and everywhere reporting a foot or two of fresh snowfall to bring powder conditions across the region.

Whistler Blackcomb was one of the big winners reporting 60cm (2 feet) in 72 hours to start the week with the snow falling right across the region, it was 1.4m (5 feet) over the past 7 days as of this Thursday.

Jasper's Marmot Basin over in Alberta posted 30cm in the same period and powder conditions there.

Over on the East Coast it's been a little less snowy and we've had the ongoing issue of rising temperature spikes bringing rain and thawing at times, as well as strong winds causing issues, but it's been dry overall and most areas remain fully open.

More snowfall for the West later this week, warm weather possible in the East at the weekend.

USA
The US has had quite a quiet week for snowfall after the big metre-plus accumulations in the Rockies that ended last weekend. Things have been changing again after a sunny week in the west though with up to a foot of snow reported in the Utah Rockies in the past 24 hours and a major storm impacting California from the Pacific, with up to 1.2m of snowfall forecast to hit by the end of the weekend.

Strong winds and blizzard conditions have temporarily closed a lot of areas in the past few days though.

On the East Coast warm temperatures are back to being an issue with dry but warm weather although there's now a temperature drop and return of snowfall in the forecast.

Zell am See, Austria (and most of the Alps) got a lot of sunshine, and had quiet slopes, this week...

Sunny in the Alps, snow in the Rockies and (again) in Japan. Snow in the forecast for some parts of the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees next week.

The Snow Headlines - March 6th
- Sunshine dominated in the Alps.
- The deepest snow in Japan (and the world) reaches 7.5 metres.
- Heavy snowfall is forecast for the Pyrenees.
- Up to two-feet of snowfall in The Rockies.


Snow forecasts worldwide.

Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.

World Overview
Spring has sprung in the Alps, even if we are still only in meteorological springtime; the traditional Astronomical seasonal measure still has a fortnight of winter to go.

Despite widespread spring conditions, most resorts have all their terrain open (more or less) so it's great spring skiing in the sunshine from mid-morning to early afternoon on the groomed runs and longer at higher altitudes. The avalanche danger has also dropped.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Pyrenees is the region that's currently cooler with regular snowfalls.

Scandinavia has had some snow too but it's had rain in some places too as temperatures have warmed.

In North America, the rain issue has impacted the East Coast as well and it has also been a drier week overall - although with snow in the Rockies.

Europe
Austria
It's been a week of near-constant sunshine in the Austrian Alps with warm, sunny weather and afternoon highs getting above +10C in lower valleys. It's classic springtime freeze-thaw weather, with overnight lows on higher slopes getting below -10C still.

Most Austrian ski areas continue to have almost all of their slopes open, despite temperatures causing the valley snowlines to climb ever higher. The Arlberg region around St Anton and Lech has the most terrain open in the country with 285km of slopes, more than 95% of its full area.

France
It's been a sunny week across the French Alps too, bringing beautiful conditions on the groomed runs after last week's snowfalls. It is March though so no surprise that temperatures are now reaching +10C in the afternoons in valleys, impacting snow quality.

All of the big French ski regions continue to report their slopes as 80-90% open for now.

There's no huge change in the forecast really other than a front expected to make its way north from the Pyrenees on Sunday which could bring 10-20cm accumulations, perhaps more, before the sunshine returns, to more southerly ski areas like Alpe d'Huez and Serre Chevalier. Further north though may not see anything or just a few centimetres.

Italy
It's been a largely sunny week in Italy as well after some light snow showers at the weekend, mostly focussed around the Trentino region where ski areas posted accumulations of up to 40cm over 72 hours with typically 5-15cm per 24 hours.

Other parts of the country remained dry and whilst the clear skies delivered low overnight temperatures, daytime highs at low elevations reached +10C impacting the quality of the generally thin cover on lower slopes.

Despite that most Italian ski areas remain almost fully open, the largest in the west, the Milky Way/Via Lattea with about 80% of its slopes and Dolomiti Superski in the East at 90%.

Aosta valley ski areas may benefit from the snow moving into the area early next week, which should at least provide a freshen-up, if not some decent powder.

Switzerland
Swiss centres have enjoyed the sunny weather too, with temperatures climbing into double figures above freezing in the afternoons in valleys and the snowline rising up the valley sides.

The freezing point has also been getting as high as 2500m altitudes after lunch but has still been dropping down to resort level overnight, giving the familiar springtime freeze-thaw conditions.

As elsewhere most Swiss ski areas reported 80-100% of their slopes open with several resorts including Saas Fee reporting 2.5m+ bases up high.

The sunshine is expected to continue for the next few days with a front moving in late in the weekend and early next week due to bring a change to conditions then, with moderate snowfall.

Scandinavia
More unsettled weather in Scandinavia than further south, especially in the region's west which has been one of the few parts of Europe reporting snowfall this week.

Unfortunately, it's also been reporting rain, sleet and gales at times so it's a case of some good days, some not so good. The rain and sleet reported at resorts like Hemsedal and Voss reflect the fact that we've gone from constantly sub-zero temperatures in January and February to currently a -8 to +8C range in the southern part of the region.

Overall though everything is looking pretty positive in terms of open terrain – at the maximum of the season to date for most areas.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have turned out to be the corner of Europe that's seen the most snowfall this week. It's been mostly low-level, a few centimetres here and there, particularly on the French side with St Lary posting 6cm on Monday, the most reported anywhere in Europe that day!

The snowfall has intensified a little in the past 24 hours and is expected to continue through the weekend as much of the rest of the continent remains dry. Temperatures are cooler here too in the -10C to +3C range so it seems that for powder hunters, this weekend the Pyrenees are the place to be.

Scotland

Scottish centres have seen some snowfall but also rain and sleet showers at times with temperatures climbing above +10C at base levels. So there's little open beyond the small areas of all-weather snowmachine maintained slopes at Glencoe, Glenshee, Cairngorm and The Lecht.

That said some natural snowpacks survive on high slopes and ski tourers at Glencoe have been able to use the access Chair to reach some of it, whilst at Cairngorm the re-opened funicular takes skiers and boarders to an in-bounds area around the Ptarmigan T Bar.

Nevis Range is yet to open this winter.

Eastern Europe
It's been a dry and sunny week right across the sweep of Eastern Europe from the far north in Poland and Slovakia to the south in Bulgaria.

The southerly Balkans have been posting lower temperatures than the Alps further north at times, although here too it's now been hitting +10C and higher at lower elevations.

Fortunately, reported spring base depths for resorts like Bansko and Borovets remain the best they've been for several years and both report almost all their runs open.

There's currently no real change in the forecast, with warm, sunny weather through the weekend, just a little cloud bubbling up in the north early next week.

North America
Canada

It's been a largely dry week across Canada with just some light snow showers in the West adding 5-10cm of fresh cover, although, in fact, bases have dipped about 10% as with slightly warmer weather and the snowpack settling, things have dropped slightly.

Across the west of the country, conditions remain excellent with great snow cover and everything open, temperatures up to -15 to +5C from their previously constantly sub-zero state.

It's a slightly more mixed picture in the East. Again conditions are good on the whole with everywhere open, but we have seen a return of warm weather spells bringing sleet and rain as well as the snow showers.

USA
A quieter week across the US with some snowfall, but not a lot, reported in the Rockies and on the West Coast, particularly for Utah and California.

The past 48 hours have seen up to 30cm of snowfall reported in Colorado and Utah's Snowbird say they've had 58cm (2 feet) since Monday.

As with Europe, temperatures have been climbing and sleet and rain has visited the Midwest and Northeast after the frigid winter months, leading some centres there to close temporarily until the rain has passed and the slopes regroomed.

Mammoth in California continues to post North America's deepest base at 4.5 metres after big snowfalls there last month.

March starts with Japan leading the snowfall tables, North America about average and Europe quite variable according to location. Snow is forecast for Scandinavia, but a mild week ahead for the Alps.

The sun setting at Avoriaz, France, this evening.

Where to Ski in March 2025
March marks the start of springtime and the start of the end of the northern hemisphere's ski season. With long daylight hours and rising temperatures, the quality of the snow changes as does the atmosphere, becoming more relaxed and less intense.

The start of the month usually sees the high point of snow depths, before the spring thaw begins.

For 2025 it's a mixed bag. Japan is the stand-out ski nation for snowfall to date, the month starting with the first areas having passed the 7m base mark, the deepest anywhere for several years. North America is running at about average, and Europe's numbers are fairly unimpressive.

In Europe, base depths have grown in March and April in recent years due to late-season snowfall so it remains to be seen if that happens again in 2025.

March starts with fairly decent snow depths and everywhere fully open, or almost so. There are a few exceptions, notably Scotland, but overall it's a positive picture.

Europe
Austria
Austria tends to see more of its centres close in late March or the very start of April than the other three major ski countries in the Alps.


This winter has been marked by a lack of heavy snowfall with many ski areas yet to really see one-metre base depths reached on higher slopes, while valley runs have been maintained by snowmaking.

Despite that, the month starts with the majority of runs in the country open. The Arlberg (St Anton, Lech etc) is reporting the most at 280km (175 miles) about 98% of its full area and Saalbach Hinterglemm and Ischgl Samnaun also both have more than 200km of slopes open.

France
Although French Alps snow depths aren't the greatest ever, they are the deepest in Europe as we start March, with several areas including Chamonix and Flaine posting 3m+ (10 feet plus).

On top of this most of the country's larger destination ski area areas, including the big players like the 3 Valleys, Grand Massif, Portes du Soliel and Paradiski report their slopes close to 100% open.

Most French areas stay open through March and this is also when a spate of music festivals including Rock The Pistes and Tomorrowland Winter are staged on slopes across the country.

Italy
Italy hasn't had much snowfall this season, but most of the country's ski centres are reporting their slopes fully open for March, albeit with thin cover, typically less than half a metre, much of it machine-made snow, across their slopes.

Dolomiti Superski is at the forefront with almost all of their 1,200km of runs available. The deepest cover is at La Thuile on the French border where it's up at 2.5m.

Switzerland
As with the rest of the Alps, conditions are pretty good in Switzerland as we start March. Here too, most of the country's well-known destinations report pretty well all of their slopes open.

The region that had had the least snowfall this season, down in the southeast around St Moritz and Arosa, did have one of the better accumulations in the latter half of February, bolstering cover.

Base depths are below average, most noticeably at lower elevations where it's the white slopes on green valley backgrounds. Temperatures reached +10C at 1,000m in the final week of February so the snowline is rising.

Scandinavia
Snowfall in Scandinavia this season so far is running below average, but not that far below average and February, along with some very low temperatures, saw more and more terrain opening.

As we start March most of the region's ski areas remain 60-80% open, still not every slope yet.

March is usually one of the best months for skiing in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

As the weather becomes decidedly more springlike with often slushy snow in the afternoons in the Alps, it is typically colder with snow conditions better up in Scandinavia. In addition, there are increasingly long daylight hours at these northerly latitudes.

Scotland
It's been a pretty lousy winter so far in the Scottish Highlands with very low snowfall and a familiar pattern of spells of very mild, wet and windy weather repeatedly thwarting any snowpack build-up.

Four centres, Glencoe, Cairngorm, The Lecht and Glenshee have all-weather snowmaking machines that can create small areas of snow to offer at least some skiing, and during the most positive spells, all have managed to open limited natural terrain.

Spring does typically bring heavier snow so we have to hope for a late blast of winter.

Nevis Range, which doesn't have an all-weather snowmaking machine, is yet to open this winter.

Pyrenees
The Pyrenees haven't had the best of seasons; it started late, about a third of the way into December, after a big snowfall saved a largely snowless autumn. Not much changed through December and January but last month did see snowfall for much of it, in varying amounts.

Although few areas are 100% open, conditions are currently the best they've been all winter with the biggest areas like Spain's Baqueira Beret and Andorra's Grandvalira reaching 75-85% open.

Eastern Europe
It looks pretty good across Eastern European ski slopes from north to south as we start March.

Bulgaria and the wider Balkans ski region have been posting healthy snow depths (approaching 2m up top) since the start of the year – better than a lot of areas further north.

Resorts in the Tatras and Carpathians up in Czechia and Slovakia haven't had so much snowfall and are mostly down below the metre mark - but do start March reporting all runs open for them too.

North America
Canada
Conditions are about as good as they get as we start March across Canada.

A month ago, things were already good in the west, with everything open and above-average snow cover – that's still the case now after a very cold February ended with some significant fresh snowfalls.

On the East though there was inadequate cover after a poor first half to the season left areas struggling to open runs still. A cold and snowy February for Quebec, Ontario and the wider region has fixed that leaving good conditions here now.

USA
Conditions are fairly good across the US as we start March with most areas across the country fully open.

Some very cold temperatures and very heavy snowfall in February have helped a lot.

The country's national weather forecasting agency has put out a March forecast predicting below-average temperatures and above-average snowfalls this month in the Pacific Northwest region. It's less promising for the Rockies though, at least the southern half, where temperatures are expected to be warmer than average and precipitation lower – that includes Colorado and Utah.

Most of the rest of the country looks around 'average' for this point in the season.

Asia
Japan has been having an incredible snowfall season and resorts there have been posting base depths topping 7 metres in the final week of February, the deepest in the world not just this season but for several seasons.

March is usually a month of fast change in Japan when the daily dumps suddenly end and the snowpack, however deep, becomes more granular and less the light, deep, floaty stuff it's famous for.

This spring it will still be deep, just perhaps not powdery for very much longer.

Most major ski areas will be open until the country's annual 'Golden Week' celebrations in early May.

Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, Austria, this week...

Seven metre snow depths in Japan, sunshine (and fresh snow in places) for Europe and a snowy week in NW North America.

The Snow Headlines - February 27th
- First ski area in the world to reach a 7-metre base depth this winter is in Japan.
- Snowiest week in February for North America's Pacific Northwest corner.
- Deepest snow depths in the US up 50% in past few weeks to 4.5m (15 feet).
- New snow freshens things up nicely for some European slopes, sunshine elsewhere.
- Mild temperatures wipes out thin snow cover in Scotland.


Snow forecasts worldwide.

Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.

World Overview
Conditions have turned quite changeable across Europe this week as we move into springtime (by the meteorological measure of the seasons). Dry weather last week was punctuated by weak fronts moving in, bringing light to moderate snowfall, particularly in the Pyrenees and southern and western Alps.

Temperatures have inevitably been creeping up, and it is now rather warm in the afternoon in valleys, pushing the snowline up and meaning precipitation is falling as rain at times, at least at lower levels.

North America has seen the bigger snowfalls, again, although not so big as in recent weeks. The Rockies got snow up to the weekend but it's been warmer and drier since. It's the Pacific Northwest corner (Oregon, Washington State, Alberta and BC) that has seen the best of it, picking up more than half a metre of snowfall in the best cases delivering powder conditions.

That continues to be the case across the Pacific too, with more Japanese ski areas passing the six-metre base depth mark after more heavy snowfall and the first there this season (and for several seasons) reaching 7 metres.

Europe
Austria

Austria has had a week of mixed weather, with spells of sunshine, low clouds, and light snowfall, and some resorts seeing slightly more substantial 5-10cm accumulations in recent days.

It's been fairly mild too, considering it's still February, with valley highs reaching +10C in afternoons, pushing the snowline further up valley sides, although pistes are being maintained down to base levels.

Most Austrian ski areas remain fully open with the Arlberg region including Lech and St Anton reporting the largest area open in the country - almost 300km.

France

French ski areas had a slightly snowy start to the week as fronts moved up from the Mediterranean bringing light to moderate snowfall, most notably above about 2,000m. Warmer weather at lower altitudes meant some saw rainfall at times.

High altitude areas like Les Arcs and La Plagne posted 30-40cm accumulations in total over the first half of this week.

Skies are starting to clear now though with sunnier weather and slightly cooler temperatures expected for the final days of February and the start of March.

Italy

A bit of a holding pattern in Italy with little change on conditions a week ago. It has been warmer at resort bases, getting as high as +12C in the afternoon down in valleys but the past few days have brought lower temperatures, low cloud and some light snowfall. Slopes up above 2,000m have seen the most (10-20cm) accumulations, but for most areas it has been more like 5-10cm.

Although warmer during the day, overnight lows have enabled snowmaking systems to keep operating. The coming week looks like its back to sunshine and increasingly warm temperatures however.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have enjoyed snowfall, heaviest in the west, over the past few days.

Accumulations of up to 30cm were reported for ski areas including Crans Montana, Leysin and Saas Fee. The snow arrived after a rather murky start to the week with warm temperatures leading to hill fog and a bit of a thaw, especially at lower levels.

Most Swiss ski areas remain fully open with Verbier and the 4 Valleys and the Zermatt-Cervinia region posting the most terrain available. Skies have started to clear now and it looks like a sunny weekend ahead and continuing so next week, with temperatures rising after a cold few days.

Scandinavia

A better week, on the whole, across Scandinavia with some light-moderate snowfalls that actually got heavier than normal for the region (up to 35cm reported in 24 hours) on Monday.

However, temperatures have been getting above freezing and there have been reports of rain rather than snow at times on some lower slopes.

Norway's Voss was one of the ski areas doing particularly well for snow, reporting more than 50cm of snowfall this week, although it was also one of those reporting rain at lower levels on occasion.

It's looking a little drier for most areas through the weekend.

Pyrenees

After last week's largely dry, sunny weather with warmer temperatures, it's been a much better period of colder temperatures and light to moderate snowfalls since the weekend in the Pyrenees.

There have not been any huge snowfalls but enough to give slopes a nice refresh and stop the depth stats from their freefall. Andorra's Grandvalira (Pas de la Casa, ​Grau Roig, ​Soldeu, ​El Tarter et al) continues to post the most terrain open, about 185km or 85% of its slopes, the most it's had open all season.

Scotland

Scotland is enjoying or enduring (depending on how you look at it), its familiar pattern of snowfalls followed by warm spells preventing base depths from building on the mountains like they used to. There have been some long, sunny, cold spells but they've tended to happen when there's little snow lying, not after the bigger falls.

Four centres (Glencoe, Glenshee, Cairngorm and The Lecht) have some terrain open thanks to all-weather snowmaking machines. Nevis Range doesn't have one and is yet to open this season.

It's looking fairly promising for hill snow, Glencoe reported 15cm on Wednesday, but the forecast is looking warmer and drier over the coming days.

Eastern Europe

A fairly dry week in Eastern Europe too, although temperatures have actually been a few degrees cooler in the Balkans, as well as further north in countries like Czechia, Poland and Slovakia.

Here too, most ski areas are fully open. Resorts in Bulgaria are posting some of the best snow depth stats in Europe, touching 2 metres at Bansko and Borovets.

The week ahead looks similar, just slightly warmer, with plenty of sunshine and just occasional light snowfall.

North America
Canada

A big week in western Canada with some of the best snowfalls this month in what had been a very cold but relatively dry February. Ski areas here are reporting up to 50cm of snowfall since Saturday.

Big White, Lake Louise and Whistler are among the resorts to report 30cm of snowfall in the last 72 hours and powder conditions.

It remains good over on the east coast too, with temperatures still dipping down to the -20s there and all terrain open.

USA

Mixed conditions across the US this week with the heaviest snowfall reported in the country's Pacific Northwest corner in states like Oregon and Washington.

Unfortunately, although higher slopes got more than a foot of snow, lower runs saw rain at times and there have also been very strong winds in the region, so much so that several ski areas in Oregon were closed on Tuesday-Wednesday.

There's been some lighter snowfall in the Rockies but also warmer weather - and bases have actually dropped a little here whilst rising in the north of the region.

Overall conditions are pretty good across the country with most resorts still fully open.