Skiing Seasons

Skiing Seasons - Running from December to March in Europe 

Skiing seasons relate to when the resort’s lifts are running, ski passes are valid and the facilities are open to visitors. The length of skiing season does depend on the mountain and its location, but in general the winter ski season last for 4-5 months in Europe and up to 6 months in North America. Prices vary dramatically throughout the ski season, with plenty of bargains and late-availability deals to be had by flexible travellers able to head to the slopes during the low ski season.

 

The typical European skiing season begins in December and finishes in March. Some of the higher resorts home to glaciers, such as Les Deux Alpes and Zermatt, open their lifts in November, as do various North American resorts such as Killington and Mammoth, and Vail in the Colorado Rockies. Skiers embarking on a holiday either early or late in the skiing season should head for these high-altitude resorts with peaks over 3,000m, such as Tignes and Val Thorens in the French Alps, for guaranteed conditions and snow-sure slopes. In December, however, resorts all over Europe open for the winter skiing season, with the first few weeks of the month seeing low prices, due to the unreliability of the snow, then prices for Christmas and New Year skiing holidays understandably shooting up due to high demand. January is still classed as a quiet time in the ski season, thanks to cold temperatures and unpredictable snow, with February skiing generally seeing the best conditions of the skiing season and some of the highest prices. February is classed as high season, and as the school half-term holidays fall in this month, the ski resorts all over Europe are notoriously busy with families and children, especially beloved resorts such as Meribel, Courchevel and Val d'Isere. March sees glorious spring weather and plenty of sunshine, and with that the start of deteriorating snow conditions and the winding down of the ski season. April and May see some limited resorts still open for the skiing season, such as Arapahoe Basin in Colorado or Banff in Canada.            

 

Summer skiing holidays can be enjoyed from June to August in a number of glacial resorts in Europe. Favourite ski resorts such as Tignes, Val Thorens, Les Deux Alpes in France, Zermatt in Switzerland and Kaprun in Austria all have high-altitude glaciers open for the summer skiing season, and boast quiet slopes and wonderful sunny conditions.