10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Savoie, France · 1850m to 3456m
Over the last 10 seasons Val d'Isère, France has averaged 652cm of snowfall, a peak snow depth of 235cm, 11 powder days and 29 bluebird days a year, with skiable cover from around 12 November to 7 June.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Val d'Isère
652 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
235 cm
Peak depth
typical season high
11
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
29
Bluebird days
sun after snow
7
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
198
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Val d'Isère, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
117 cm
150 cm
1 mm
6.4 h
-7° / -13°
2.2
3.8
0.2
Feb
73 cm
171 cm
1 mm
7.6 h
-4° / -11°
1.2
3.5
0.0
Mar
95 cm
192 cm
1 mm
8.6 h
-4° / -11°
1.6
4.7
0.0
Apr
66 cm
186 cm
2 mm
10.5 h
-1° / -8°
0.7
3.6
0.4
May
69 cm
145 cm
13 mm
11.2 h
3° / -4°
0.8
4.0
4.1
Jun
8 cm
27 cm
58 mm
13.1 h
10° / 2°
0.0
0.2
13.8
Jul
4 cm
0 cm
53 mm
13.7 h
12° / 4°
0.0
0.1
12.8
Aug
6 cm
0 cm
65 mm
12.2 h
12° / 4°
0.1
0.1
12.3
Sep
18 cm
1 cm
58 mm
10.3 h
8° / 0°
0.1
0.4
10.2
Oct
49 cm
5 cm
40 mm
8.0 h
4° / -3°
0.5
2.2
7.2
Nov
104 cm
48 cm
9 mm
6.4 h
-2° / -9°
2.0
4.6
1.3
Dec
129 cm
111 cm
2 mm
5.7 h
-5° / -11°
2.9
4.8
0.6
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
2025/26leanest
466 cm
193 cm
7
19
194
2024/25
549 cm
256 cm
8
14
192
2023/24
829 cm
299 cm
13
34
212
2022/23
601 cm
178 cm
7
33
191
2021/22
520 cm
177 cm
11
23
193
2020/21
575 cm
182 cm
7
26
175
2019/20
847 cm
297 cm
22
35
210
2018/19
627 cm
247 cm
11
27
212
2017/18best
930 cm
305 cm
19
45
201
2016/17
581 cm
220 cm
9
34
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 2653m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Val d'Isère 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
652 cm
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 283 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Peak snow depth
among the very best we track
235 cm
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 84 cm
How deep the settled base gets at its yearly high.
Powder days
among the very best we track
11
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
among the very best we track
29
Ahead of 98% of resortsMedian 10
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
7
Drier than 95% of resortsMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
among the very best we track
198
Ahead of 93% of resortsMedian 115
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
The season at Val d'Isère
Typical stretch holding 30cm or more of settled snow, averaged over the record.
SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Cover arrives
12 November
Season ends
7 June
Days of cover
209 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
192cm average depth
Most new snow
December
129cm and 2.9 powder days
Best bluebird odds
December
4.8 bluebird days, 5.7h sun a day
Wettest month
May
4.1 rain days
Is Val d'Isère a good place to ski?
heavy snowfalla deep, reliable basefrequent powder daysplenty of bluebird daysvery little raina long season
On 10 years of record, Val d'Isère 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 2653m, 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 Val d'Isère usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Val d'Isère snow record in detail
How much snow does Val d'Isère get?
Val d'Isère averages 652cm 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 930cm, and the leanest was 2025/26 with 466cm — a difference of 464cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 466cm.
December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 129cm and 13 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Val d'Isère?
Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Val d'Isère the snowpack peaks at an average of 235cm each season. That is among the very best we track, deeper than 95% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 84cm.
The base is deepest in March, averaging 192cm through the month and topping out around 217cm in a typical year.
How many powder days does Val d'Isère get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Val d'Isère averages 11 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than 95% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. December averages 2.9 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 Val d'Isère 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. Val d'Isère averages 29 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 4.8 bluebird days and 5.7 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Val d'Isère?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Val d'Isère sees an average of 7 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 5% 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 4.1 rain days and 13mm 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 Val d'Isère, and when does the season end?
Val d'Isère typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 12 November through to 7 June, which works out at roughly 209 days of skiable cover in an average year. 198 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is among the very best we track compared with the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way.
In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 7 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, 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 Val d'Isère are taken at 2653m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.