Val Thorens · Peak Window

What to expect

What to expect in weeks 1–4

Based on 40 winters of weather data, modelled at ~2893m (not the village). Any single year can be very different.

Typically mixed, around -7.6°C, with 28cm of fresh snow over the week. Powder days hit 51% of the time. Other weeks run stormy or cold and clear.

Icy mornings

0.5 days/week

spring-like in 4% of years

Snow texture

Powdery

soft, easy turns

Typical wind

5.1 m/s

peaks to 20 m/s

Typical Freezing level

1600 m

0°C isotherm

Powder days

51%

of years see 10cm+

Rain at base

0 days

per week

Storm

40%

of years

Bluebird

20%

of years

Thaw

of years

Mixed

40%

of years

Climatology

What a season here looks like

Each track shows the typical range across 40 winters. The marker shows where your selected weeks sit.

Reliability60cm+

100%

Depth

139cm

Temperature

-7.6°C

Fresh snow

28cm

Snow line

1600m

Wind

5.1 m/s

Transfers

Airport	Drive	Train
Chambéry (CMF)	98 min
Geneva (GVA)	166 min
Lyon (LYS)	146 min

Method & sources

The composite score weights snow reliability against the historical baseline, pulls in live conditions where available, then adjusts for how much hassle the trip actually is for your group.

01ERA5-Land hourly grid → daily SWE & snow depth at the resort cell.
02Bias-correct against ground stations (SLF / Météo-France nivôse).
03Build per-week climatological percentile · 35 winters.
04Anomaly = current week vs. cell's own 30-year baseline.
05Snow-sure read at the highest-snow cell within ~15km. When most resorts are bare, ranking shifts toward this, surfacing glaciers in shoulder seasons.
06Weight + rank against your origin & vibe profile.

Sources

Snow data sources

Ground stations the score is based on.

VAL THORENSmeteofrance
Les Menuiresmeteofrance