10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Isère, France · 1100m to 3330m
Over the last 10 seasons Alpe d'Huez, France has averaged 656cm of snowfall, a peak snow depth of 202cm, 13 powder days and 30 bluebird days a year, with skiable cover from around 20 November to 23 May.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Alpe d'Huez
656 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
202 cm
Peak depth
typical season high
13
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
30
Bluebird days
sun after snow
18
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
189
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Alpe d'Huez, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
116 cm
123 cm
2 mm
6.3 h
-3° / -12°
2.5
4.3
0.5
Feb
79 cm
151 cm
3 mm
7.7 h
-1° / -10°
1.6
3.7
0.4
Mar
106 cm
164 cm
3 mm
8.9 h
0° / -9°
2.2
5.1
0.4
Apr
63 cm
139 cm
7 mm
10.7 h
3° / -6°
1.3
3.9
1.8
May
55 cm
64 cm
44 mm
11.2 h
7° / -2°
0.6
2.7
10.0
Jun
4 cm
5 cm
98 mm
13.0 h
14° / 3°
0.0
0.0
15.4
Jul
0 cm
0 cm
79 mm
13.8 h
17° / 6°
0.0
0.0
11.7
Aug
3 cm
0 cm
92 mm
12.3 h
16° / 5°
0.1
0.2
11.0
Sep
11 cm
0 cm
77 mm
10.3 h
12° / 1°
0.1
0.1
10.3
Oct
31 cm
2 cm
91 mm
8.3 h
8° / -2°
0.5
1.1
10.0
Nov
91 cm
28 cm
32 mm
6.5 h
1° / -8°
1.2
4.5
3.7
Dec
145 cm
85 cm
8 mm
5.9 h
-2° / -10°
3.2
5.9
1.5
Averages across the last 10 seasons. Powder, bluebird and rain columns are the average number of such days per month.
Season by season
Season
Snowfall
Peak depth
Powder days
Bluebird days
Skiable days
2025/26
643 cm
292 cm
13
34
197
2024/25
589 cm
200 cm
11
24
178
2023/24
780 cm
199 cm
14
33
211
2022/23
620 cm
133 cm
10
33
175
2021/22
519 cm
143 cm
10
26
164
2020/21
621 cm
166 cm
8
31
178
2019/20
792 cm
250 cm
18
33
196
2018/19
613 cm
206 cm
14
27
197
2017/18best
939 cm
255 cm
21
37
199
2016/17leanest
444 cm
179 cm
7
23
195
How these numbers are calculated
Powder day — at least 15cm of new snow in 24 hours.
Bluebird day — sunshine for at least 60% of daylight, following at least 10cm of snow over the previous 3 days.
Rain day — at least 1mm of rain (not snow) at this elevation.
Skiable day — at least 30cm of settled snow on the ground.
Snow depth is modelled from Open-Meteo / ERA5 reanalysis at 2215m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Alpe d'Huez compares
Measured against 40 other resorts across 18 countries, each analysed exactly the same way. The line down the middle of each bar is the median.
Snowfall per season
among the very best we track
656 cm
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 283 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Peak snow depth
among the very best we track
202 cm
Ahead of 90% of resortsMedian 84 cm
How deep the settled base gets at its yearly high.
Powder days
among the very best we track
13
Ahead of 98% of resortsMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
among the very best we track
30
Ahead of 98% of resortsMedian 10
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
18
Drier than 80% of resortsMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
well above average
189
Ahead of 88% of resortsMedian 115
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
The season at Alpe d'Huez
Typical stretch holding 30cm or more of settled snow, averaged over the record.
SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Cover arrives
20 November
Season ends
23 May
Days of cover
186 days
When to go
These rarely land in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most before you book.
Deepest base
March
164cm average depth
Most new snow
December
145cm and 3.2 powder days
Best bluebird odds
December
5.9 bluebird days, 5.9h sun a day
Wettest month
May
10.0 rain days
Is Alpe d'Huez a good place to ski?
heavy snowfalla deep, reliable basefrequent powder daysplenty of bluebird daysvery little raina long season
On 10 years of record, Alpe d'Huez stands out for heavy snowfall, a deep, reliable base, frequent powder days, plenty of bluebird days, very little rain and a long season.
All of these figures come from 2215m, the mid-mountain height, and describe an average year rather than the one you are about to book. Snow depth here is modelled from reanalysis rather than measured on the hill, so treat it as a guide to how Alpe d'Huez usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Alpe d'Huez snow record in detail
How much snow does Alpe d'Huez get?
Alpe d'Huez averages 656cm of snowfall over a full season, measured from November to May across the last 10 winters. That is among the very best we track: more snow than 95% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median season brings 283cm.
Season to season the spread is wide. The best of the last 10 winters was 2017/18 with 939cm, and the leanest was 2016/17 with 444cm — a difference of 495cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 643cm.
December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 145cm and 12 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Alpe d'Huez?
Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Alpe d'Huez the snowpack peaks at an average of 202cm each season. That is among the very best we track, deeper than 90% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 84cm.
The base is deepest in March, averaging 164cm through the month and topping out around 188cm in a typical year.
How many powder days does Alpe d'Huez get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Alpe d'Huez averages 13 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than 98% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. December averages 3.2 of them, which is the single strongest argument for timing a trip around the middle of the season rather than the edges.
How often does Alpe d'Huez get bluebird days?
A bluebird day means sunshine for at least 60% of daylight on the back of at least 10cm of snow in the previous 3 days — fresh snow and clear skies together, which is the combination people actually travel for. Alpe d'Huez averages 30 of them a season. That is among the very best we track, more than 98% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median of 10.
December is the best month for it, averaging 5.9 bluebird days and 5.9 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Alpe d'Huez?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Alpe d'Huez sees an average of 18 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 20% of the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way see fewer wet days, against a median of 32.
May carries the most of it, with 10.0 rain days and 44mm in an average year. Bear in mind these figures are for the middle of the mountain: the base area will be wetter and the top drier.
When is the best time to ski Alpe d'Huez, and when does the season end?
Alpe d'Huez typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 20 November through to 23 May, which works out at roughly 186 days of skiable cover in an average year. 189 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is well above average compared with the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way.
In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 23 May. Anyone booking late in the season should be looking at the highest terrain here rather than the base, and anyone booking early should expect the upper mountain to open before the valley runs do.
If you want the deepest base, go in March. If you want the best chance of fresh snow, go in December. If you want fresh snow and sunshine together, December gives the most bluebird days. Those rarely fall in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most to you before you book.
Comparisons use 40 resorts across 18 countries, each measured over 5 recent seasons at mid-mountain height. Glaciated locations, where the model never melts the snow out, are excluded. Figures for Alpe d'Huez are taken at 2215m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.