The Updated PlanetSKI Snow Report

20th January 2026

Last modified on January 26th, 2026

Check out our latest reports from Europe and North America: The Alps, The Pyrenees, The Canadian Rockies & the Scottish Highlands. UPDATED

Monday 26th January

Snow is finally falling in the Dolomites in Italy as the Winter Olympics get underway in Cortina in under two weeks.

It is the first time it has snowed in the area for many weeks and there is relief all round.

“Although it won’t amount to anything extraordinary, with 15-30cm of snow falling quite widely across the Dolomites (with 40cm+ in some favoured spots close to the southern foothills) and another moderate dump expected on Wednesday, it is certainly a timely intervention from the weather gods,” said Fraser Wilkin from weahtertoski.co.uk.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics start on Friday 6th February and end on Sunday 22nd February.

GB ski & snowboard teams announced for Winter Olympics

There has also been some snow falling over the weekend in parts of Austria, while the western Alps are drier and brighter.

“Bit by bit, this rather unusual winter season is coming together, with fresh snow for just about all parts of the Alps over the last few days and more forecast next week, especially in the southern and western Alps,” added Fraser.

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

Over in Canada the PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, has just arrived in Revelstoke in British Columbia.

The resort has seen 7.3 m of snow so far this season and claims a base depth of 2.3m.

Look out for his reports on the snow conditions later.

Arriving in Revelstoke, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

More to follow…

Saturday 24th January

In the Alps the weather remains fine across many areas with some cloud building up in the west.

“On Saturday morning we can expect a few centimetres of snow across the French Alps – perhaps 10-15cm in some southern resorts, especially those exposed to the west (e.g. SuperDévoluy), but with probably no more than a dusting in the more internal Tarentaise resorts (e.g. Tignes),” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.

“Other western Swiss, central and western Italian ski resorts will also see a little snow but no more than a dusting to a few centimetres at best.

“The eastern Alps will stay largely dry until later in the weekend. The rain/snow line tonight will start at around 1000m but will drop towards 600m or so later.”

For the weekly detailed report on conditions from weathertoski.co.uk then see here.

One European ski resort that needs some snow is St Moritz in Switzerland, but at least it is sunny, with mainly clear sky overhead.

As these images show from PlanetSKI reader, Helen Gillespie, who is in the resort.

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

Another area that needs snow is Colorado in the USA.

BIG time.

Vail has seen its worst start to a season in almost 50 years.

For others in Colorado it has been three decades since there have been such low levels of snowfall at the beginning of winter.

See here for our new & full report on conditions in the USA:

Many parts of US endure dreadful start to ski season

For updated reports over the past few days on conditions in Canada, The Pyrenees and elsewhere round the mountains from our team of reporters out in resorts, then read on below.

Do check back for the latest…..

Friday 23rd January

PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, is in Banff in Canada.

But not for much longer.

Banff, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI.

In the USA it is a different story as the poor winter continues in the western skiing states.

Colorado’s 25-26 ski season limps along as snowfall totals struggle.

There is snow forecast for the weekend bu nowhere near enough to get things back on track.

Breckenridge Resort’s website shows that only 73 of the 193 trails are currently open, with more than half of its lifts shut.

According to Vail Resorts skier visits are down 20% from the last season.

Retail and rental revenue is down 6%.

Conditions are slightly better in the resorts in Utah and in Wyoming.

California is also holding up with Mammoth Mountain claiming a base of 2.4m base at the top of the mountain which is about average for the time of year.

The meteorologist, Chris Tomer, shares his North America snow forecast for the end of January.

In Europe it has been chucking it down in the French Pyrenees.

There have been huge amounts of snow and PlanetSKI’s Felix Milns was in the French Pyrenees earlier this week deep in the powder.

Felix in the powder of the Pyrenees.

Felix & friend in the powder of the Pyrenees.

Look out for Felix’s full report from the French Pyrenees that we will be posting over the weekend.

Elsewhere in the Pyrenees resorts in Spain and France have seen fresh snow and there is more in the forecast across the mountain range over the coming days.

Cauterets, in France, is predicting another 60cm of snow by the beginning of next week as the Pyrenees in general sees some of the best January conditions in recent years.

More to follow…

Thursday 22nd January

We start in Tignes/Val d’Isere and a video report from one of our regular contributors, Steve Angus:

One of our regular PlanetSKI readers, Helen Gillespie, has sent us these images and videos from St Moritz in Switzerland:

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

Some much needed snow is hopefully on its way to St Moritz over the next couple of days.

Fingers crossed.

So, what about the current forecast for the next few days across the Alps?

For the details we once again turn to the alpine snow expert, Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk

“A new storm cycle is getting underway, mostly affecting the south-western Alps, at least to start with,” said Fraser.

“Over the next few days, the most snow will again fall in the southern Piemonte (e.g. Prato Nevoso, Limone Piemonte) where 50cm+ is possible by the end of the weekend.

“Across the border in France, Isola 2000 could see 40cm or so.

“Elsewhere in the Alps, there will be ‘bits and pieces’ of snow over the next few days, generally in modest quantities but with 15-20cm possible here and there, and the most widespread snow likely to fall on Saturday night.

“After this there is a very complicated weather set-up on its way to the Alps, meaning that details are very hard to pin down at this stage.”

And let’s not forget Sicily.

We will be updating from Canada shortly.

PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, who is in the middle of a two month stay spotted this sign in Lake Louise earlier in the week.

Lake Louise, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

And then….

A skier is safe after they triggered an avalanche while skiing on a backcountry run near Lake Louise Ski.

Parks Canada said the skier triggered a “Size 2” avalanche, which is big enough to bury, injure or even kill a person.

The skier ended up buried up to their waist and lost both skis but was uninjured.

Wednesday 21st January

The weather remains clear across large parts of the Alps with blue sky and cold temperatures the order of the day.

Further snow is set to fall in parts of the south-western Alps on Thursday and Friday, but otherwise it is remaining dry.

Overall snow depths in the Alps are generally below the annual average, though conditions on piste remain good in many of the French resorts including Tignes & Val Thorens.

It is looking fairly healthy in Verbier in Switzerland and at some of the resorts in the Aosta Valley in Italy.

The further east one goes the overall conditions deteriorate.

Areas like the Dolomites in Italy are once again relying on their excellent snow making capabilities.

With the 2025 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics just a few weeks away it would be good to see some fresh snow.

Snow depths are considerably below par in the south-east of Switzerland and one of its ski areas, St Moritz, could do with some more snow.

“After a couple of low viz and light snow days the sun is back in St Moritz for at least a couple of days,” said PlanetSKI reader, Helen Gillespie, from the Swiss resort.

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

“Then there is some much needed snow scheduled to arrive for Friday and Saturday.

“The temperatures are below freezing and the skiing is on so-called packed powder.

“The pistes are not crowded ahead of this weekend’s infamous polo tournament.”

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

“It’s been busy in the resort this past weekend with both curling and ice hockey championships.

“Always plenty to do and see in the gorgeous Engadin.”

St Moritz, Switzerland. Image © Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

On Thursday we’ll bring you a detailed update on current conditions in North America.

Generally this winter it has been very good in parts of Canada, and very poor in parts of the USA.

PlanetSKI’s editor, James Cove, is skiing in Sunshine Village near Banff in Canada where it has been an excellent winter so far.

Historic amounts of early season snow have fallen in the area:

Record breaking snowfall in Banff resorts

“There’s no fresh snow at the moment, but with temperatures of -8c and very few people around it has been on-piste heaven,” said James.

Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Village, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

Sunshine Coast run, Sunshine Village, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

And let’s not forget Scotland.

There could be decent amounts falling shortly to improve the current conditions.

We’ll keep you posted….

Glenshee, Scotland. Image © Julia Clarke/PlanetSKI

Tuesday 20th January

In the Alps the storms have passed and it is mainly sunny with some variable cloud cover.

Regular PlanetSKI reader, Rob Stewart, is in the French Alps.

“I am just arriving in the French Alps and it’s a gloriously sunny day and the snow line looks decent,” said Rob.

Snow is set to fall in parts of the south-western Alps on Thursday and Friday.

The area saw snow at the end of last week.

“Not surprisingly, the best snow conditions in the Alps right now are in the far south-west, including the likes of Isola 2000, the Queyras region, Limone Piemonte, Prato Nevoso and Prali,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.

“Elsewhere in the Alps, there is also plenty of good piste skiing on offer despite snow depths generally remaining below average.

“They are considerably below average across large parts of Switzerland, Austria and the central and eastern Italian Alps.”

There remains ‘considerable’ avalanche danger in some places and there have been multiple avalanches in the past ten days as we have reported elsewhere on PlanetSKI.

Here’s the current avalanche risk in Switzerland:

Avalanche risk in Switzerland, Tuesday 20th January. Image c/o SLF.

We reported lower down this snow report from Glenshee in Scotland.

It was a bit grim at the weekend.

Glenshee, Scotland. Image © Julia Clarke/PlanetSKI

Recent mild weather has reduced the snow cover in the Scottish ski areas, but snow is forecast to return later this week thanks to a cold and moist south-easterly airflow.

Glenshee could see around 50cm by Saturday.

Glenshee, Scotland. Image © Julia Clarke/PlanetSKI

Over in Canada temperatures remain cold but there is no snow in the forecast for the resorts around Banff.

“Some fresh snow would be nice to see after the record-breaking start to winter in this part of the Canadian Rockies,” said PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, who is in Canada for a couple of months.

“However, the temperatures remain cold at around -8c so there is no melt/freeze that creates icy conditions.

“Rather there is grippy and chalky snow that remains fabulous to ski on and there are very few bare patches in the resorts of Sunshine Village and Lake Louise where I am mainly skiing.”

Here’s the snow in Delirium Dive in Sunshine.

PlanetSKI hits the steeps of Sunshine Village

South Side Chutes, Sunshine Village, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

Delirium Dive, Sunshine Village, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

Next week James is off on a road trip to Revelstoke, Kicking Horse and Marmot Basin so look out for his snow reports from those resorts.

Revelstoke and Kicking Horse have done particularly well so far this winter.

Do check back…

Monday 19th January

We begin today’s update with a video report from PlanetSKI reporter, Felix Milns, who is in St Lary in the French Pyrenees.

More heavy snow has been falling in the area.

Polo in the powder of the Pyrenees, St Lary.

Felix posing above the clouds in St Lary, French Pyrenees.

In Canada it has been wall-to-wall blue sky for the past few days.

The road to Lake Louise. Image © PlanetSKI

It has certainly brought the weekend crowds out.

In Lake Louise in Canada the temperatures have warmed up and it’s even possible to have lunch & drinks on the terrace.

Rare for this time of year in Canada.

Sunday 18th January

Today we hear from the Alps, The French Pyrenees and Scotland.

We start today’s report with an update on conditions in the Alps where there has been fresh snow in the south-western area of the mountain range.

The storm is expected to continue into Monday and some areas could see up to 40cm.

“Already we have seen snowfalls of 10-30cm across many southern French ski resorts (e.g. Serre Chevalier, Risoul, Isola 2000), the Italian Piemonte (e.g. Prali, Prato Nevoso, Alagna) and the eastern Aosta (e.g. Gressoney),” said the alpine weather expert, Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk

“Over the next few days, the heaviest of the snow will focus more on the far south-west, from Prali down to Prato Nevoso, Limone Piemonte and across to Isola 2000, all of which could pick up an additional 20-40cm by Monday afternoon.”

Generally the northern and eastern Alps have remained dry and will continue dry over the next few days.

Over in the French Pyrenees there has been some heavy snow – up to 40cm in places.

PlanetSKI reporter, Felix Milns, is in Peregude:

Over the border in the Spanish Pyrenees is our chief reporter, Jane Peel, who gave us a full update on Saturday from Baqueira Beret.

She has been in Baqueira Beret for the Freedride World Tour.

PlanetSKI is slopeside for the Freeride World Tour in Spain

She has just posted a resort review of the Spanish resort.

Baqueira Beret – The Secret is Out

It’s a fabulous ski area with its international recognition growing.

A busy Saturday in January 2026 in Baqueira Beret, Spain. Image © PlanetSKI

PlanetSKI reporter Julia Clarke is in Glenshee in Scotland where there are, er, somewhat mixed conditions.

“It’s now all change at Glenshee after the Friday forecast of overnight snow turned out to be sleet.

“It changed to rain by morning, and Tom Dearg didn’t open up as hoped, but it wasn’t all bad news.

“The temperatures remained just above freezing and while the rain definitely opened up some big bald spots at the bottom early on, conditions at the top were just a bit soft and actually more skiable than yesterday when we had sun and colder temperatures.

“It all made for some fun turns on Saturday if you had a good shell and the right attitude.

“There were over a thousand skiers out having a good time in the Scottish conditions.

“By the end of the day though, grass was making an unwelcome appearance and getting on the rope tow at Claybokie for ski patrol training required something akin to pond skimming – but it was a good way to test if my ski boots are waterproof.

“The precipitation had let up by late afternoon and we were just dealing with fog and the occasional breeze.

“Sunday looks to be foggy again, but the temperatures are predicted to drop a little and we might see a built more of the white stuff by lunch time.”

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