Winter Skiing Season

The winter skiing season is always eagerly anticipated by the vast numbers of skiers and boarders who frequent the slopes, and head to either Europe, or the USA and Canada for their action-packed week away. The winter skiing season in Europe remains fairly consistent, but can fluctuate slightly either at the very beginning or very end of the season, depending on snow conditions. For those who can't wait for the next winter skiing season, there are a number of ski resorts offering summer skiing holidays on their snow-sure glacial slopes.    

 

Generally the winter skiing season in Europe begins in December and finishes in March. High-altitude resorts, such as Tignes and Val Thorens in the French Alps, often open in late-November for their winter skiing season, as they see plenty of early snowfall thanks to their height. Resorts located close to glaciers also open their lifts for the winter skiing season earlier than others, as their slopes remain more snowsure with guaranteed conditions, such as Zermatt, Cervinia, Les Deux Alpes and Val d'Isere. Most European ski resorts open for their winter skiing season in early December, but varied snowfall and limited conditions can result in lack of visitors and uncrowded slopes, even though the lifts are in operation and the facilities are open. Christmas and New Year remain extremely busy times in the winter skiing season for everyone, with skiers enjoying the unique experience of spending the festive season away, and families, especially, taking advantage of the children’s school holidays for a family getaway to the slopes. The winter skiing season runs throughout January and February, with the latter being a busy time thanks to the school's half-term holiday, and finishing in March, which is often perceived to be the best time to ski, as snowfall is guaranteed and conditions are spring-like with cloudless skies and plenty of sunshine. The same high-altitude and glacial resorts remain open for longer, with some keeping their lifts running until April, and even early May.     

 

America and Canada both offer a long winter skiing season, with some resorts opening as early as the beginning of November and remaining open until June, although many do close in early April. Favourites such as Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia enjoys a long winter skiing season, thanks to its northerly location, with Killington having the longest season in the eastern US, and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado.