10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Haute-Savoie, France · 1035m to 3842m
Over the last 10 seasons Chamonix, France has averaged 717cm of snowfall, a peak snow depth of 284cm, 14 powder days and 33 bluebird days a year, with skiable cover from around 11 November to 11 June.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Chamonix
717 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
284 cm
Peak depth
typical season high
14
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
33
Bluebird days
sun after snow
14
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
200
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Chamonix, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
134 cm
183 cm
2 mm
6.3 h
-5° / -12°
3.0
5.8
0.4
Feb
94 cm
208 cm
2 mm
7.5 h
-3° / -11°
1.8
4.5
0.5
Mar
106 cm
228 cm
2 mm
8.7 h
-2° / -9°
1.6
4.9
0.5
Apr
66 cm
216 cm
6 mm
10.6 h
1° / -7°
0.8
4.4
1.3
May
65 cm
164 cm
37 mm
11.2 h
4° / -3°
0.8
3.7
7.6
Jun
6 cm
39 cm
84 mm
12.9 h
11° / 3°
0.0
0.1
16.5
Jul
1 cm
0 cm
80 mm
13.4 h
13° / 5°
0.0
0.0
14.3
Aug
4 cm
0 cm
86 mm
12.0 h
14° / 5°
0.1
0.1
14.0
Sep
20 cm
1 cm
76 mm
9.9 h
9° / 1°
0.3
0.4
11.4
Oct
43 cm
7 cm
74 mm
8.0 h
5° / -2°
0.9
1.7
9.5
Nov
104 cm
50 cm
19 mm
6.3 h
-1° / -9°
2.2
5.0
2.7
Dec
150 cm
129 cm
5 mm
5.7 h
-4° / -10°
3.7
5.0
1.0
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
601 cm
307 cm
10
31
212
2024/25
607 cm
284 cm
13
26
193
2023/24
892 cm
291 cm
18
44
212
2022/23
686 cm
243 cm
9
36
192
2021/22
593 cm
232 cm
10
31
187
2020/21
733 cm
248 cm
12
34
178
2019/20
823 cm
345 cm
23
33
209
2018/19
734 cm
297 cm
14
39
208
2017/18best
986 cm
358 cm
22
35
202
2016/17leanest
520 cm
232 cm
8
24
204
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 2439m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Chamonix compares
Measured against 39 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
717 cm
Ahead of 97% of resortsMedian 272 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Peak snow depth
among the very best we track
284 cm
Ahead of 97% of resortsMedian 83 cm
How deep the settled base gets at its yearly high.
Powder days
among the very best we track
14
Top of every resort we compareMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
among the very best we track
33
Top of every resort we compareMedian 9
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
14
Drier than 90% of resortsMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
among the very best we track
200
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 114
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
The season at Chamonix
Typical stretch holding 30cm or more of settled snow, averaged over the record.
SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Cover arrives
11 November
Season ends
11 June
Days of cover
214 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
228cm average depth
Most new snow
December
150cm and 3.7 powder days
Best bluebird odds
January
5.8 bluebird days, 6.3h sun a day
Wettest month
May
7.6 rain days
Is Chamonix a good place to ski?
heavy snowfalla deep, reliable basefrequent powder daysplenty of bluebird daysvery little raina long season
On 10 years of record, Chamonix 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 2439m, 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 Chamonix usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Chamonix snow record in detail
How much snow does Chamonix get?
Chamonix averages 717cm 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 97% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median season brings 272cm.
Season to season the spread is wide. The best of the last 10 winters was 2017/18 with 986cm, and the leanest was 2016/17 with 520cm — a difference of 466cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 601cm.
December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 150cm and 13 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Chamonix?
Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Chamonix the snowpack peaks at an average of 284cm each season. That is among the very best we track, deeper than 97% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 83cm.
The base is deepest in March, averaging 228cm through the month and topping out around 263cm in a typical year.
How many powder days does Chamonix get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Chamonix averages 14 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than more than any other resort in the set, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. December averages 3.7 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 Chamonix 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. Chamonix averages 33 of them a season. That is among the very best we track, more than more than any other resort in the set, against a median of 9.
January is the best month for it, averaging 5.8 bluebird days and 6.3 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Chamonix?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Chamonix sees an average of 14 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 10% of the 39 other resorts we have analysed the same way see fewer wet days, against a median of 32.
May carries the most of it, with 7.6 rain days and 37mm 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 Chamonix, and when does the season end?
Chamonix typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 11 November through to 11 June, which works out at roughly 214 days of skiable cover in an average year. 200 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is among the very best we track compared with the 39 other resorts we have analysed the same way.
In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 11 June. 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, January 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 39 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 Chamonix are taken at 2439m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.