Valmorel snow history

Valmorel averages 563cm 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 828cm, and the leanest was 2016/17 with 439cm — a difference of 389cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 481cm.

December is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 122cm and 12 days with fresh snow.

Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Valmorel the snowpack peaks at an average of 183cm each season. That is well above average, deeper than 85% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 84cm.

The base is deepest in March, averaging 148cm through the month and topping out around 173cm in a typical year.

Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Valmorel averages 10 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 2.6 of them, which is the single strongest argument for timing a trip around the middle of the season rather than the edges.

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. Valmorel averages 24 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.

January is the best month for it, averaging 5.0 bluebird days and 6.2 hours of sunshine a day.

Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Valmorel sees an average of 36 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is about average: 53% 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 16.5 rain days and 95mm 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.

Valmorel typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 22 November through to 17 May, which works out at roughly 178 days of skiable cover in an average year. 176 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 17 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.