Fabulous Easter Skiing Conditions as Season Draws to a Close
19th April 2025
Last modified on April 20th, 2025
It follows the biggest snowstorm of the winter in the western Alps. PlanetSKI reporters & readers are out in the Alps. UPDATED
Sunday 20th April
It continues to be one of the best finishes to a ski season in recent memory in parts of the Alps.
The temperature has warmed up after the extraordinary snowfall of last week in the western Alps.
The snow is very heavy and wet so there are not quite the powder conditions one may think.
There have been numerous avalanches so extreme caution is needed off piste.
The snow was forecast, but nevertheless was extraordinary to see and the snow fell to much lower levels than predicted.
The areas most impacted by this storm were:
- The eastern French Alps (especially the Tarentaise and Haute-Maurienne regions)
- The western Italian Alps (especially the Piedmonte and eastern Aosta)
- The western Swiss Alps
Why did so much snow fall to such low levels?
For an explanation we turn to Fraser Wilkin from weatherto.ski.co.uk
“The answer is ‘Evaporative Cooling’ or what the French call ‘Neige par Isothermie’.
“For this to take place, the two conditions required are: (1) intense precipitation, and (2) little (if any) wind.
“Both of these were present during the middle of this April storm.
“Simply explained, when falling snowflakes turn into raindrops, the melting process requires energy.
“This is drawn from the heat of their surroundings, cooling the column of air that the snowflakes are falling through.
“If this process continues, the column of cooled air is dragged ever downwards towards the ground.
“This ‘evaporative cooling’ can allow rain to turn to snow even if the ambient temperature of the airmass is relatively high.
“In a typical storm, the rain/snow limit would be perhaps 200-300m below the general freezing level.
“However, overnight on Wednesday and on Thursday morning the Alps saw heavy snow to as low as 700m despite general freezing levels being close to 2000m.
The clear-up operation is now largely finished and more areas in ski resorts have now opened.
Here’s the freshly opened high-altitude skiing in La Plagne on Sunday.
La Plagne, France. Image c/o Lynsey Devon.
Lower down in La Plagne, as with many other ski areas, the snow is heavy off piste.
“The snow that fell was very wet, meaning that it stuck to everything: bringing down trees and powerlines, and crippling transport infrastructure,” added Fraser.
“Zermatt, which saw 55cm of wet snow at resort level (and much more higher up), for example, was cut off for a time due to the risk of avalanche above both its access road and railway.
“The western Italian Alps may have grabbed fewer snow-related headlines, probably due to fewer ski resorts in the region still being open, but were also in the firing line from this April storm.
“There have been reports of 1.5 to 2 metres of snow falling in 48-hours in some high border areas of the Piedmonte, and lots of flooding issues lower down.”
Here at PlanetSKI we will have further updates so do check back…
Saturday 19th April
The huge clearing up operation continues in ski areas in the western Alps after the biggest snowstorm of the season.
Up to 2m fell in places and resorts have cleared access roads and re-opened slopes.
There remains risk of avalanche and people are advised to follow all the rules and regulations and obey the instructions about where is safe to ski and snowboard.
It is set to be one of the best ends to the season with many of the resorts that are still open closing this Easter weekend.
PlanetSKI reader, Vanessa Fisher, is in the French resort of Les Menuires.
“On Friday things slowly opened up and more is set to follow on Saturday, ” said Vanessa.
“The piste skiing is creamy perfect and the limited number of slopes open are busy.
“I met a Belgian skier on a chairlift who had come for the weekend after seeing the forecast earlier in the week.”
Les Menuires, France. Image c/o Vanessa Fisher.
Les Menuires, France. Image c/o Vanessa Fisher.
Les Menuires, France. Image c/o Vanessa Fisher.
It has been busy too in Tignes, that was cut off at the height of the storm with people urged to stay indoors.
On Friday some slopes re-opened, but very few.
Hence the huge lift queue as seen at Palafour lift in Tignes in Le Lac.
The avalanche risk in Tignes is 4/5.
Tignes, France. Image c/o David Morgan.
More slopes will be opening across the weekend.
Tignes remains open until the first weekend in May, so it should set up a great finale to the season.
Caution is urged off piste with considerable risk of avalanches.
A 27-year old British man died in Val Thorens in France on Thursday after being swept away by an avalanche.
The victim, who has not been named, was at the side of a road at the lower end of the town when he was struck by the avalanche that carried him 15m down the slope.
He was taken to hospital in Grenoble with cardiorespiratory failure, but died in the evening.
The authorities have released some further details:
“On April 17th, 2025, an avalanche broke out shortly after 10:00 a.m. near the entrance to Val Thorens.
“A British man, who was at the side of the road, was buried and swept about fifteen meters below.
“Two municipal police officers and a patrol of three gendarmes on foot, alerted by a witness, responded quickly to the scene and managed to extract the victim, who was in cardio-respiratory arrest at the time.
“First aid was immediately administered by the gendarmes.
“The 27-year-old victim was evacuated to Grenoble University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead that evening.
“An investigation, entrusted to the gendarmerie, was opened by the Albertville prosecutor’s office, as is customary in such circumstances.
“The victim support association, AVIJ des Savoie, was involved in supporting the victim’s family.”
It Italy, the bodies of a 64-year-old man and his 33-year-old son were found near Vicenza in the Veneto region, bringing the death toll in the country to three.
The pair had volunteered to help with rescue efforts after heavy rains in the north of the country and were on their way when their car was swept away by the currents.
We will be updating this rolling blog across the Easter weekend so do check back.
Friday 18th April
The weather in the western Alps has cleared on Friday after the HUGE, HUGE amounts of snow in the past few days.
The authorities are urging caution as a 27-year-old British man died in Val Thorens in France on Thursday after being swept away by an avalanche.
The victim, who has not been named, was at the side of a road at the lower side of the town when he was struck by the avalanche that carried him 15m down the slope.
He was taken to hospital in Grenoble with cardiorespiratory failure, but died in the evening.
“Our thoughts are with the family,” said the mayor of the commune of Belleville, Claude Jay.
“As long as there is an accident, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.
“It happened in rather exceptional weather conditions.
“Proceedings are now underway to determine the more precise circumstances of the accident.”
Now a clear up is underay across the areas in the western Alps affected by the recent snowstorm, and some slopes are opening to skiers and snowboarders.
Here was the picture in Les Arcs in France first thing on Friday morning as the sun returned.
Les Arcs, France. Image c/o Richard Sinclair.
And once the lifts opened the slopes were near perfect, though there is risk of avalanche off piste and the authorities are urging people to stay to the marked runs.
The risk of avalanche is at Level 4, meaning there is a “high” chance of avalanches.
Les Arcs, France. Image c/o Richard Sinclair.
Les Arcs, France. Image c/o Richard Sinclair.
Les Arcs, France. Image c/o Richard Sinclair.
Les Arcs, France. Image c/o Richard Sinclair.
And it’s a similar scene in neighbouring La Plagne.
La Plagne, France. Image c/o Lynsey Devon.
“Due to the unprecedented amount of snow, the lifts are just opening in Mont Chavin,” said PlanetSKI reader, Lynsey Devon, first thing on Friday morning.
“There was a lot of blasting this morning plus we heard helicopters overhead where they were checking the power cables.
“Several trees had fallen and until the all clear was given skiers waited patiently to grab their turns.”
There have been record-breaking amounts of April snow with more than 2m falling in places.
Verbier, Switzerland. Image c/o Elise Farquet.
Tignes, France. Image c/o Simon Perry.
Zermatt, Switzerland. Image c/o Ed Mannix, Matterhorn Chalets.
Tignes in France was cut off at the height of the storm with people urged to stay indoors.
On Friday morning some slopes re-opened, but very few.
Hence the huge lift queue as seen at Palafour lift in Tignes in Le Lac.
The avalanche risk in Tignes is 4/5.
Tignes, France. Image c/o David Morgan.
The Swiss resort of Zermatt was at the heart of the storm and it’s rail and road links have been closed with power cuts in the town.
Here is the updated situation on Friday morning from the resort where things are far from back to normal:
• The Visp – Zermatt railway line will remain safely closed until 3.00 pm.
• Access by road will remain closed.
On site
• Stay at home despite the good weather. The safety work is in full swing.
• The facilities of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG and the Gornergrat Bahn will remain closed today.
• All winter hiking trails are closed. There is great danger. Please follow the instructions.
Power/Electricty
• The power supply remains interrupted until further notice. The main line is still interrupted.
• From 11.00 a.m., the EWZ will temporarily switch to island operation on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis as long as power is available.
The sequence is as follows: Spiss, then west side of the village towards Zermatterhof, Oberdorf, Winkelmatten, Steinmatte, Wiesti, Zer Bänna, then Spiss again and from the front.
To ensure that this runs smoothly, please do not use lifts, dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers.
Please concentrate on the essentials.
Each accommodation should be connected to the power supply for at least two hours.
Please observe the rules of behaviour described!
If these rules are observed, this island operation can be maintained for a longer period of time.
Service
• Migros, Coop and Denner have been open since 8.00 am. Migros and Denner have a reduced offer.
• The Zermatt Tourism emergency meeting point has been in operation since 8.00 a.m., the emergency meeting point in the Triftbachhalle since 9.00 a.m. and the emergency meeting point of the municipality is open 24 hours a day.
• From 9.00 a.m., mobile phones can be charged in the Triftbachhalle in the same way as yesterday.
Please bring your own battery-powered device.
Hot water will also be available in the Triftbachhalle from 9.00 am.
Please bring your own container/thermos flask.
• The container shelters (Denner, Talisman, Tufta, Wiesti) will be taken up during the day on a neighbourhood basis to ensure waste disposal.
• Older people are welcome to go to the old people’s home. It is warm there, there is food, drink and company.
• A food bank will again be set up in the Triftbachhalle this evening between 18.00 and 20.00.
• The ATMs at Migros and Denner are in operation.
The information from Zermatt was sent to us by PlanetSKI reader, Ed Mannix from Matterhorn Chalets.
“The sun is out and it’s looking beautiful again in Zermatt,” said Ed.
Zermatt, Switzerland. Image c/o Ed Mannix, Matterhorn Chalets.
The Swiss resort of Verbier saw more than 1m fall.
And here’s a time-lapse video of the 1m falling.
View this post on Instagram
Looks like Christmas but it’s 18th April! Beautiful conditions in Switzerland’s 4 Vallées resorts pic.twitter.com/L0tQThAoS3
— Valais Dude (@ValaisDude) April 18, 2025
There remains a ‘high’ risk of avalanche in parts of the Swiss Alps, with a ‘considerable’ risk’ in many of the other ski areas in the country.
Image c/o Swiss Institute for Snow & Avalanche Research.
At lower altitudes there has been torrential rain with flooding.
Power outages were reported in 37 of the 74 municipalities in the Aosta Valley in Italy.
The heavy rain in north-west Italy saw rivers burst their banks.
A 92-year-old man has drowned after flooding in his home at Monteu da Po near Turin.
For skiers and snowboarders there should be some superb Easter snow conditions in resorts over the weekend, however it has come at a cost.
Parts of some resorts will be closed due to the danger of avalanche, access roads will need to be cleared and made safe, while some Easter ski events have been hit.
The Mega Bell Course event in La Plagne has been cancelled.
“We were ready, even super-ready. And then… overnight, a massive snowfall completely disrupted our organization, forcing us to make a difficult decision: cancel the Mega Bell Course,” said La Plagne.
“On paper, receiving so much snow might seem like a godsend, especially given the sunshine forecast for Saturday.
“But on the ground, we’re facing such a massive snowfall in less than 24 hours that the ski area had to be closed today and until further notice, with an avalanche risk of 5/5.
“Despite our best efforts, this exceptional situation for mid-April deprives us of the logistical conditions to prepare and shape the events safely.
“Between now and Saturday, with the forecast thaw and heavy snow in many areas, the priority will remain securing the ski area.”
In Chamonix the Aiguille du Midi cable car will open, but not for skiers and snowboarders.
“We would like to draw the attention of off-piste skiers to the exceptional conditions in the high mountains: over 2 meters of snow with a high snowpack density and an avalanche risk estimated at 4/5,” said the resort.
“Skiers will not be allowed on the Aiguille du Midi for their own safety.”
“The avalanche risk is high (4/5), and visitors must therefore respect the slopes that may be closed and, above all, use marked and secured trails,” said Les2Alpes.
The transport system in Switzerland and northern Italy has been severely impacted.
Rail traffic across the region ground to a halt on, with the lines between Visp and Zermatt, Brig and Lausanne, and Brig and Andermatt closed.
Zermatt was cut off with power cuts as we reported earlier.
“We’ve never experienced anything like yesterday and tonight,” said one visitor to Zermatt on social media on Thursday.
“We’ve been without electricity since last night.
“There’s no hot water, no internet.
“Things we take for granted are suddenly a luxury.”
The Eurocity rail connection from Switzerland to Milan was suspended after flooding on the Italian side, with no public transport links between the Valais and northern Italy.
Authorities in Ticino in Italy closed the road into the Bavona Valley, while several other mountain passes and local roads were impassable due to snow, fallen trees, and landslides.
Winter has returned to Mürren.
Over 60cm of new snow overnight at village level and more falling today!!#snowdump #easterpresent #murren #muerren #jungfrauregion#SnowHour #switzerland pic.twitter.com/3exzqdfM4Y— Mürren Lover (@Murrenlover) April 17, 2025
Back in France here’s the forecast in the Val d’Isere area from Henry’s Avalanche Talk:
FRI 18th: Cloud will soon break up, leading to a bright sunny day, with mild temperatures. 0° C at 2700 m. Light W wind.
SAT 19th: A largely sunny day. 0°C at 2800 m.
SUN 20th: A brief spell of snow flurries down to 1800 m in the morning, but quickly brightening up.
MON 21st & TUES 22nd: Cloudy and cool for the time of year.
NEXT FEW DAYS: Mixed conditions.
See here for our earlier report as the snow fell: Monster Easter snowstorm hits the Alps
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