When is the best time to visit Alpe d’Huez?

I will go through all the questions I get about visiting Alpe d’Huez during winter!

WHen does the season in Alpe d’huez Start?

The season begins the first weekend in December. There is a limited opening the first week, with just the main area of Alpe d’Huez open, and not yet the connecting stations of Auris, Villard Reculas, Oz, and Vaujany. These will gradally open with the first fully open week usually being Christmas Week.

When Does the season in Alpe d’Huez Finish?

It usually finishes the final weekend in April, however winter 22/23 will be closing a week early in order for the resort to reduce its overall energy consumption. I can’t say yet if this will continue for winter 23/24.

Is Alpe d’Huez Snow Sure?

I will say that nowhere in the European Alps are snow sure anymore. Winters are consistently getting warmer and December 2022 was a testament to that fact with many resorts across France and Switzerland being forced to close due to heavy rain washing away most of the snow. That said, during this period Alpe d’Huez did not shut. The Resort is at 1800m and generally speaking the higher you go the safer you are. The next factor you want to look at is how much of the skiing is done up at higher altitudes. Alpe d’Huez goes right p to 3330m, however only a small percentage of the runs are up at that height. The bulk of the resort is between 2000m - 2800m and pretty much all of the beginner runs are lower down. Therefore if you’re a good rider and there’s not much snow lower down, there will probably be some good snow higher up that you can ride, but if you’re a beginner you will be hoping for snow lower down.

What is the snow in Alpe d’Huez like in December, January, FEBRUARY, MArch, April..?

The snow in December can be great, there probably won’t be much of a base in the early season, therefore riding off piste isn’t always an option as rocks etc won’t be covered. It might not have snowed yet, this can happen, it is rare, but I’m telling you now just so you know! If it doesn’t snow then you’ll be riding mostly on snow cannon snow. Not ideal but in my 11 winters here I’ve never seen the resort fail to open on time.

The snow in January and Feb are usually the best conditions. A base of snow is normally in place and you will get good snow conditions due to the more consistently cold temperatures. If the temperature goes above freezing then the snow starts melting, melting means water, water in the snow then refreezes at night and that means ice. It is the fluctuating of temps above and below zero that gives you ice.

March and April are typically getting warmer. Moreso towards the end of April. Here you are more likely to experience the melt freeze cycle as described above. However warm isn’t all bad, as soft slushy snow in the afternoon can be great too. Depending on how much snow there has been throughout the winter depends on how much will be left at the end of April. Some years the snow stays right into the end of May, some years you can only just ski back to the resort by the end of April.

IMPORTANT - now you’ll notice I keep saying normally, or usually, the above is just the general trend. I don’t have a clue what the conditions will be like on any given week in the future! Sometimes we get a heatwave one week in February, then the next week could be freezing. We could get loads of snow one week and none the next. I’ve had amazing powder days at the end of April. Again, winter seasons are not only getting warmer but they are becoming far more unpredictable. The temperature and the conditions could be absolutely anything on any given week. The above is the general trend, but it could be the complete opposite.

When is the quietest Time to Ski in Alpe d’Huez?

Stay outside of School Holidays is the simple rule. This means avoid Christmas and New Year. Avoid French Holidays which run for 4 weeks typically from the first weekend in February, but I’ll let you google that! The week that also coincides with UK half term is the busiest of this period and the 4th week is the quietest. After that its pretty calm, Easter Holidays don’t get super busy. Saturdays can be busy if the conditions are good, as you get everyone from Grenoble and Lyon coming up.