10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Savoie, France · 2300m to 3230m
Over the last 10 seasons Val Thorens, France has averaged 588cm of snowfall, a peak snow depth of 213cm, 9 powder days and 26 bluebird days a year, with skiable cover from around 14 November to 27 May.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Val Thorens
588 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
213 cm
Peak depth
typical season high
9
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
26
Bluebird days
sun after snow
16
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
192
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Val Thorens, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
108 cm
143 cm
1 mm
6.1 h
-7° / -14°
2.1
4.4
0.3
Feb
69 cm
166 cm
2 mm
7.3 h
-5° / -12°
1.3
3.3
0.3
Mar
90 cm
182 cm
2 mm
8.2 h
-4° / -12°
1.3
3.9
0.3
Apr
58 cm
161 cm
6 mm
9.9 h
-1° / -8°
0.5
2.6
1.5
May
57 cm
93 cm
38 mm
10.5 h
3° / -5°
0.5
3.7
10.0
Jun
5 cm
9 cm
88 mm
12.3 h
10° / 1°
0.0
0.0
17.4
Jul
1 cm
0 cm
70 mm
12.9 h
12° / 3°
0.0
0.0
14.1
Aug
5 cm
0 cm
76 mm
11.6 h
12° / 3°
0.1
0.1
13.5
Sep
14 cm
1 cm
63 mm
9.7 h
8° / -1°
0.2
0.1
10.7
Oct
32 cm
3 cm
60 mm
7.9 h
4° / -5°
0.3
0.8
8.6
Nov
84 cm
38 cm
16 mm
6.3 h
-3° / -11°
1.0
4.1
2.4
Dec
123 cm
102 cm
4 mm
5.5 h
-6° / -13°
2.7
4.0
0.9
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
485 cm
223 cm
9
25
178
2024/25
495 cm
170 cm
8
14
179
2023/24
710 cm
235 cm
8
32
212
2022/23
533 cm
161 cm
6
22
186
2021/22
480 cm
173 cm
10
18
178
2020/21
561 cm
168 cm
7
31
172
2019/20
700 cm
285 cm
18
32
203
2018/19
603 cm
230 cm
9
28
212
2017/18best
834 cm
277 cm
15
32
201
2016/17leanest
479 cm
208 cm
4
26
200
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 2765m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Val Thorens 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
588 cm
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 272 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Peak snow depth
among the very best we track
213 cm
Ahead of 92% of resortsMedian 83 cm
How deep the settled base gets at its yearly high.
Powder days
among the very best we track
9
Ahead of 95% of resortsMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
among the very best we track
26
Ahead of 97% of resortsMedian 9
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
16
Drier than 85% of resortsMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
well above average
192
Ahead of 87% of resortsMedian 114
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
The season at Val Thorens
Typical stretch holding 30cm or more of settled snow, averaged over the record.
SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Cover arrives
14 November
Season ends
27 May
Days of cover
196 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
182cm average depth
Most new snow
December
123cm and 2.7 powder days
Best bluebird odds
January
4.4 bluebird days, 6.1h sun a day
Wettest month
May
10.0 rain days
Is Val Thorens 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 Thorens 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 2765m, 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 Thorens usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Val Thorens snow record in detail
How much snow does Val Thorens get?
Val Thorens averages 588cm 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 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 834cm, and the leanest was 2016/17 with 479cm — a difference of 355cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 485cm.
December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 123cm and 13 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Val Thorens?
Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Val Thorens the snowpack peaks at an average of 213cm each season. That is among the very best we track, deeper than 92% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 83cm.
The base is deepest in March, averaging 182cm through the month and topping out around 206cm in a typical year.
How many powder days does Val Thorens get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Val Thorens averages 9 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than 95% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. December averages 2.7 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 Val Thorens 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 Thorens averages 26 of them a season. That is among the very best we track, more than 97% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median of 9.
January is the best month for it, averaging 4.4 bluebird days and 6.1 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Val Thorens?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Val Thorens sees an average of 16 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 15% 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 10.0 rain days and 38mm 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 Thorens, and when does the season end?
Val Thorens typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 14 November through to 27 May, which works out at roughly 196 days of skiable cover in an average year. 192 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is well above average compared with the 39 other resorts we have analysed the same way.
In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 27 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, 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 Val Thorens are taken at 2765m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.