36 cm at Alpe d'Huez, 32 at La Rosière on Sunday

Most of this weekend's snow falls on Sunday 25 October, high up in the ski areas: the forecast model gives 36 cm at Alpe d'Huez, 32 cm at La Rosière, 30 cm at Tignes, 29 cm at Val Thorens and 28 cm at La Plagne. On Friday 23, a first wave mainly hits the Mont-Blanc area. Forecast read on Thursday 22 October at 6:52: this is a model forecast, not a measurement.

Sunday, the biggest day

The totals below are the snowfall forecast at the top of each ski area for Sunday 25 October (model forecast, not measurements):

• Alpe d'Huez36 cmat 3,330 m · Oisans
• La Rosière32 cmat 2,800 m · Tarentaise
• Tignes30 cmat 3,456 m · Tarentaise
• Val Thorens29 cmat 3,200 m · Trois Vallées
• La Plagne28 cmat 3,080 m · Tarentaise
• Chamonix-Mont-Blanc22 cmat 2,765 m · Mont-Blanc

At Tignes the model gives 30 cm at mid-mountain and at the summit, but only 2 cm in the village (2,100 m): the rain-snow limit is the weak point of this episode. On Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 the model forecasts no snow at Tignes; on Wednesday 28 it shows rain in the village and 3 cm up high.

Friday and Saturday: Mont-Blanc first

On Friday 23, the first wave favours Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (21 cm at the top of the ski area), La Rosière (17 cm) and Les Arcs (15 cm). Saturday 24 totals are more modest, 7 to 12 cm across most large Tarentaise ski areas. For 23 and 24 October, the AlpeSnow snow alert ranks Haute-Tarentaise first (28 cm at 3,000 m), then Mont-Blanc (27 cm) and Grandes-Rousses (20 cm).

At 2,000 m, the forecast by massif gives 18 cm over 48 hours for Mont-Blanc (range 12 to 24 cm) and for Haute-Tarentaise (12 to 21 cm), 14 cm for the Vanoise and 11 cm for the Aravis. Haute-Maurienne stays behind with 6 cm at most.

Over seven days, at the top of the slopes: 62 cm at La Rosière, 58 cm at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, 57 cm at Tignes, 56 cm at La Plagne.

What it means for opening dates

No resort opens before 21 November, the date announced by Tignes, Val Thorens and Orelle; Val d'Isère and Les 2 Alpes aim for 28 November. This high-altitude snow sets the scene but guarantees nothing: dates remain those announced by the resorts, subject to snow cover. See the 2026-2027 opening dates.

Roads and mountain passes

The high mountain passes (cols) of Savoie were still closed when read this morning (22 October, 7:20): Galibier and its tunnel (weather closure since 16 October), Croix de Fer (since 21 October at 11:22), Glandon, and the Iseran, closed for roadworks between Bonneval-sur-Arc and the pass until 23 October. Check the Savoie road status before setting off; the status of some passes (Cormet de Roselend, Mont-Cenis, Petit-Saint-Bernard) dates from May and may be out of date.

Following the episode

• Look at the pages for Tignes, La Rosière and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: day-by-day forecast by altitude.
• The webcams show snow arriving on the summits, but do not prove the state of roads or slopes.
• The forecast is recalculated every hour: figures may shift before Sunday.