The PlanetSKI Snow Report

17th March 2026

Last modified on March 24th, 2026

Spring conditions have returned to the Alps, but the weather is changing mid-week We also have an update from Canada. UPDATED

Monday 23rd March

It has been another glorious day in many parts of the Alps.

Here is Val Thorens:

Val Thorens, France. Image © PlanetSKI

And here’s PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, who is in Val Thorens:

Here’s one of those near-deserted pistes in Orelle that James was talking about:

Val Thorens/Orelle, France. Image © PlanetSKI

All eyes are now on what the storm of Wednesday may bring.

It will mean the end of views like this in Zermatt.

Zermatt, Switzerland. Image c/o Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI.

The fresh snow will be very welcome as Easter approaches.

It looks like there could be ‘significant’ amounts of snow across the northern Alps.

We’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime feast your eyes on the view from the top of Val Thorens today:

Sunday 22nd March:

More on the snow conditions in the Alps shortly, but first we update from Canada.

Kicking Horse in British Columbia to be precise.

The PlanetSKI reporting team of Marie Taylor and Alex Cove is there.

Kicking Horse, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

“Kicking Horse was closed on Friday due to warm weather and rain on mid/lower mountain but that meant on Saturday there was 20cm of fresh snow at the top,” they said.

“Once you got to the section where it had rained we stuck to the groomers and it wasn’t too bad, if you went on the non-groomed stuff it was bulletproof.

“Towards the end of the day it got a little slushy but that’s always fun.

“Overall great day once again in The Horse.”

Kicking Horse, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

“There was also a freeride event going on so they lucked out with the conditions,” Marie and Alex added.

Kicking Horse, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

PlanetSKI spent several days in Kicking Horse last February on a Canadian road trip.

See here for our full-length feature on the resort:

PlanetSKI Resort Review: Kicking Horse, British Columbia, Canada.

It remains one of PlanetSKI’s favourite resorts in North America.

Kicking Horse, British Columbia, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI

Here’s Alex in the Kicking Horse snow this weekend:

Saturday 20th March

PlanetSKI has just arrived in Les Menuires in Les3Vallees.

There was good snow at the top of the resort at La Masse at 2,800m.

That’s La Masse in the distance.

Plus at the middle area of the resort the snow was good.

And decent covering at St Martin de Belleville at 1,400m.

Les Menuires/St Martin de Belleville. France. Image © PlanetSKI

Here’s PlanetSKI’s James Cove:

There is set to be some snow likely across many southern parts of the Alps, especially on Saturday night.

It will also turn colder so snow should fall to relatively low altitude.

Here’s Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.

“After a relatively calm start to next week, the weather in the Alps is likely to turn much more unsettled from around Wednesday onwards with the chance of more widespread snow to low levels.”

More to follow…

Friday 20th March

The fine, dry and sunny weather is continuing though things are set to change this weekend with cloudier conditions on Sunday.

We start with some image from the Dolomites in Italy that come from PlanetSKI reader, Helen Gillespie.

The Dolomites, Italy. Image c/o Helen Gillespie/PlanetSKI

In France Steve Angus updates us from Tignes/Val d-Isere.

For the past few days PlanetSKI has been in Les Gets in France, where there has been glorious sunny weather and Spring conditions.

Les Gets, France. Image © PlanetSKI

See here for our full report from Les Gets from PlanetSKI editor, James Cove.

Les Gets: Then and Now

Les Gets, France. Image © PlanetSKI

This weekend we are heading over to Les3Vallees.

We’re starting in Les Menuires before heading over to Val Thorens so look out for our reports on the conditions.

Les Menuires shuts on the 17th April and Val Thorens continues until the first weekend of May so there is still plenty of skiing left.

If you are heading out, or thinking of it, we’ll bring you the latest on the snow conditions.

Do check back…

Thursday 19th March

It’s been a clear day across the Alps with plenty of sunshine.

The weather is set to change at the weekend with the cloud coming in and some modest amounts of snow in places.

Then it’s back to Spring conditions next week as Easter edges ever closer.

Today’s video snow report comes from James Cove, who is in Les Gets in the French Alps.

See here for more on Ski Weekends in the Chalet Marjorie in Les Gets

Lets not forget Norway:

Later we’ll be posting some images from the Dolomites in Italy from one of our readers where the weather is pretty much the same.

All in all it’s a great time to be out in the Alps.

Do check back…

Wednesday 18th March

We left our base in Morzine and headed to the linked resort of Avoriaz where the sun has made a welcome return.

However, the temperatures have shot up.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

Here’s PlanetSKI’s James Cove:

And here is Avoriaz in the distance ‘blending’ in to its surroundings.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

It’s a bit of a marmite resort with many either loving the architecture or hating it.

Here it is up close.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

Avoriaz to Morzine, France. Image © PlanetSKI

The warm temperatures continued and when James headed back to Morzine it was +15c at 15.30.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

He’s been staying in this rather elegant looking building, Le Chablais, in Morzine.

Morzine/Les Gets, France. Image © PlanetSKI

“It is somewhat less grand inside, but with a room for three people coming in at €50 a head we at PlanetSKI are not complaining,” said James.

“It is right in the centre of town, 5-minutes from the main lift and the price includes a hearty breakfast.

“If you want to save your money for more interesting things than sleeping then I would thoroughly recommend it.”

Morzine itself retains its village atmosphere, though there is no snow in town at the moment.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

The resort home run is rather, er, sketchy.

A single run remains open to the town, so it is still possible to ski down into Morzine at the end of the day.

Avoriaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI

“I don’t ski in town, so I’m not bothered in the slightest that there is no snow at resort level,” added James

“I care about the snow on the slopes and here in Morzine they currently remain in excellent condition for the time of year.”

Next on this PlanetSKI alpine road trip we’ve headed round to stay in Les Gets for a few nights – it’s an 11 minute drive.

Rather less than we usually do on one of our PlanetSKI road trips.

It was just a case of shoving all the gear in the boot, rather than packing it in neatly.

James used to ski in Les Gets 30-years ago when his family were young – way before PlanetSKI was even a twinkle in his eye.

He retains a huge soft spot for the resort.

The three-strong PlanetSKI team is staying with Ski Weekends in the fabulous Chalet Marjorie.

He’ll be posting about his visit in a report at the end of the week – Les Gets: Then & Now.

Much has changed, and much hasn’t.

Do check back…

Tuesday 17th March

We start today with an update from the resort of Gausta, in Norway.

See more here about Gausta:

Skiing in Norway: The resort of Gausta

Gausta. Image c/o Norway – Home of Skiing

Gausta. Image c/o Norway-Home of Skiing.

We will have a full update from the Alps later as the weather warms up with the sun back.

PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, remains in Morzine/Les Gets in France.

It’s looking rather good.

Monday 16th March

The latest storm has passed with some fine weather returning to the Alps.

“The rest of this week will be relatively calm in the Alps, with plenty of sunshine but also some areas of cloud drifting around,” said weathertoski.co.uk.

“Temperatures will be on the cool side, meaning that freeze-thaw cycles will be less extreme than they might otherwise be at this time of year.

“Towards the weekend there is the chance of some further snow in the south-western Alps.”

The latest storm has caused ‘considerable’ risk of avalanches in parts of the Alps.

Avalanches in the Alps

One person has died in France with another injured.

The avalanche risk is ‘considerable’ in parts of Switzerland, France and Italy.

Sunday 15th March

The forecast storm has delivered in places.

1m of snow is reported to have fallen in parts of western Italy and the south of Switzerland.

Zermatt and Saas-Fee have seen up to 1m of fresh snow, accompanied by some high winds.

Resorts in the Monte Rosa area in Italy have done well.

Many other parts of the Alps have also seen snow, with 10-30cm above 1,600m across some parts of the French Alps.

There was less snow at lower altitudes than expected.

PlanetSKI is now in Morzine where snow fell, but not in the quantities expected with a dusting of around 5cm on the slopes.

It has though been very welcome.

In Morzine the ‘Rock the Pistes’ event is underway.

And let’s not forget the Jura mountains to the north of Lake Geneva that looked good on Sunday.

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