Unprecedented temperatures on certain winter days, glaring lack of snow in many resorts... In the mountains, the acceleration of the effects of global warming (increased variability in weather conditions, increase in the rain-snow limit...) has disrupted a 2022-2023 ski season saved in part by an excellent or even record occupancy rate in certain spots and the almost miraculous work of groomers and professionals on the slopes.
The snowflakes which returned to most resorts in early March are projecting professionals and tourists towards a seemingly calmer end to the season, with the prospect for resorts in the Alps in the highest perched ski areas to once again attract the world for spring break with quality skiing.
Our selection.
Read alsoMountain: a record ski season despite the lack of snow, inflation and strikes
Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), to the end of the myth
The Bochard red run, in the Grands Montets area, which should close its lifts on May 1, 2023. Boris V.
The world capital of mountaineering maintains its rank as a major ski destination.
Its mythical Vallée Blanche like the Grands Montets area, Mecca of free-ride, makes Chamonix and its four ski areas, not connected, a resort frequented without interruption until the closing of the ski lifts.
Logical since
"90% of the ski area is located above 2,000 meters in altitude",
insists Antoine Burnet, sales and marketing director at the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc:
"We have taken up a little more than 70 cm of snow in the resort which was a very good surprise since we are now on levels comparable to last year in terms of snow cover over the same period.
There will be plenty of skiing and good skiing all month of April in Chamonix with, unsurprisingly, a better quality of snow in the morning.
»
In the afternoon, take the opportunity to trudge along the side of Montenvers and its Mer de Glace, try the Step into the Void at the top of the Aiguille du Midi or simply experience the Chamonix way of life.
To note this spring?
The return of the Chamonix Unlimited Festival electro festival from April 5-9 (www.chamonix-unlimited.com).
Number of open slopes:
101/125
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
170 cm (Grands Montets)
Closure of the domain:
April 10, 2023 (Les Houches), April 16 (Brévent, Flégère, Vallorcine), May 1 (Les Grands Montets) www.chamonix.com
Good plan:
From April 1, the day pass goes to €49.60 instead of €62 and even… to €26 if you buy it online at least three days before use.
www.montblancnaturalresort.com
Read alsoAprès-ski in Chamonix: good restaurants, crafts, spa... Our best addresses
La Clusaz (Haute-Savoie), for fun
The La Balme sector, facing north, theoretically remains open until May 1 in the Haute-Savoie resort.
Bruno Mazodier / Le Figaro Magazine
“
In
La Clusaz
, we really like spring and the end of the season,
insists Jean-Philippe Montfort, director of the tourist office.
We are confident, we will hold the Balme sector until May 1, as usual.
With this date, La Clusaz is one of the last French resorts to close its lifts and it rivals those at high altitude.
We are very proud of it, especially after a year like the one we are experiencing, which has had a strong impact on mid-mountain village resorts.
»
Another specialty of the resort: an end of the season always very animated by locals quick to revive a 600-year-old history.
In April, we will therefore almost simultaneously meet the artists invited to the Radio Meuh Circus Festival (from March 30 to April 2) and the cows of the cantonal fair on April 22.
Between the two, don't miss the Return of the Champions and the 22 athletes of the French team from the village (April 7) or the Boarder Line of Team Farté, a local fantasy that consists of putting skiers on a boarder-cross background !
Will follow the always very show Défi Foly (April 23), which consists of crossing the Confins lake on skis, snow or monoski and the Der des Ders, final descent of May 1, animated by a human slalom.
Number of open slopes
:
31 /54
Snow cover at the top of the slopes
:
190 cm
Closure of the domain
:
May 1
Good plan
:
The special Radio Meuh Circus pack, valid from March 30 to April 2, including accommodation in an apartment for 2 to 4 nights, access to the festival (1 to 4 evenings) and a ski pass, from 243 €/ person.
www.laclusaz.com
Read alsoSkiing in La Clusaz: ski pass, area, good addresses... Our guide
Bonneval-sur-Arc (Savoie), closer to nature
The small village resort in Savoie, at between 1800 and 3000 m, is a superb off-season spot.
Daniel Durand Fresh Influence
"
At home we ski without problems until mid-May so we are very confident about the end of the season
",
indicates Eric Provost, director of the Bonneval-sur-Arc ski area, between 1800 and 3000 meters above sea level.
The conditions prove him right.
On the weekend of March 18-19, the Savoyard village resort even hosted the Freeride World Tour Qualifier competition on the lower part of the resort, the heavy snowfalls of mid-March having created avalanche conditions higher up in the area.
Nestled at the foot of the Col de l'Iseran, the village, labeled land of mountaineering by Unesco, is the highest in the Maurienne and one of the most remarkable in the Alpine arc with its traditional chalets, its roofs of slates and its narrow streets not cleared of snow.
A vestige of the traditional mountain habitat, it is also one of the gateways to the Parc de la Vanoise and a popular destination for ski touring enthusiasts.
Which reach, from the station, the surrounding refuges, in particular those of Val-Cenis,
Number of open slopes:
26/26
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
230 cm
Domain closure:
April 28, 2023
Good plan:
The mountain is not only for skiing and it is the concept of the event "Nature and skiing in Val Cenis", organized from April 8 to 15, which mixes sliding and animations around the environment. (film screenings, walks with agents of the Vanoise National Park, etc.).
From €224/person based on a stay of 4 people, the Nature and Ski pack includes accommodation, 6-day ski passes, an accompanied snowshoe outing, priority access to activities and the workshop tree planting excursion.
Bonus: 50 euros are reimbursed to families who come by train.
reservation.haute-maurienne-vanoise.com
La Rosière (Savoie), sun and excursion to Italy
The resort benefits from good natural snow cover.
The good idea?
Ski there in the morning then switch to La Thuile, in Italy.
La Rosière / press photo
Facing Les Arcs, in the heart of the Tarentaise, La Rosière (1850 – 2800 meters) stands out as a safe bet and again this year benefits from good natural and late snowfall.
"It's a bit like the return of winter, we took 50 cm in the resort last week, 1 meter at the top and the conditions are also very good on the Italian side", indicates Jean Regaldo, the director of the Savoyard ski area
. .
To date
“we only have two closed slopes, including that of Ecudets, which goes down to Séez.
This is very positive for the Easter holidays and we hope that these new snowfalls will attract holidaymakers from zone A at the last minute.”
The ideal program?
Ski in the morning at La Rosière, to take advantage of the sun, its natural snow and its family slopes, before switching to the other side of the Petit Saint-Bernard pass at lunchtime to challenge yourself on the La Thuile World Cup, track n°3 Franco Berthod, within the San Bernardo area, straddling France and Italy.
Number of slopes open on March 20:
69 / 78
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
280 cm
Closure of the area:
April 22, 2023 (please note that the resort of La Thuile closes its doors a week earlier, on April 16).
Good plan
: offered from April 15 to 23, the Famiglia stay offers a service for children under 13 (pass, lessons, equipment rental, entry to the ice rink and cinema) for the same adult service purchased.
www.larosiere.net
Read alsoSkiing at La Rosière, the “small” uphill resort
The 3 Valleys (Savoie), the safe bet
As usual in the 3 Valleys, Val Thorens will be the last resort to close its lifts, on May 8th.
Nikolai Korzhov
“Despite a lack of precipitation, we were already confident for the spring holidays because we now really know how to work the snow. With the last falls it's even better, we're going to have great conditions”,
explained Sébastien Lazzaroni, the director of the S3V Méribel-Mottaret ski area.
With, in its ranks, the highest resort in Europe, Val Thorens but also Les Menuires, Courchevel, Méribel, Orelle, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville or Brides-les-Bains, the 3 Valleys remain essential for those who want to ski in spring.
85% of the slopes being traced at more than 1800 meters,
“the ski guarantee is part of a contractual commitment”,
insisted Olivier Desaulty, director of the 3 Valleys association a few months ago.
Among the major events of the season, don't miss Les 3 Vallées Enduro, on April 2, competition in teams of 3 including 12 technically crazy events: freeride, flying kilometer, ski mountaineering relay, Arva research, Big Air Bag …
Number of open slopes: 315 / 350
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
190 cm at Orelle (cime Caron)
Closure of the domain:
May 8, 2022 (Val Thorens)
Read alsoWhat to do in Val Thorens when you're not skiing?
Our best activities
Tignes-Val d'Isère (Savoie), great skiing in a linked area and activities
In addition to skiing, Tignes always offers many activities in the spring, including ice diving.
Jean-Marc Paillous
An ultra-sporty resort where you can ski almost all year round, including summer (the area will reopen on June 17) on the Grande Motte glacier, at 3656 meters above sea level, Tignes has plenty to satisfy skiers throughout the spring.
“We have taken 70 cm of quality snow in recent days”,
assures Frédéric Porte, general manager of Tignes Développement, who is also pleased to keep open, a major novelty of the year, the entire connected area until May 6. .
"A decision that we took in November when we had to postpone the opening of the
Val d'Isère resort
,
explains Christophe Lavaut, general manager of Val d'Isère Tourisme.
and which will be, with regard to the snow cover in recent years and the calendar of the next school holidays, renewed at least for the next three years.
»
Good news for regulars of the avaline resort, a chic and sporty playground where you can savor ski touring and starred restaurants (La Table de l'Ours, Maison Benoît Vidal) as well as for the hyperactive people of Tignes who will be able to enjoy it at a more moderate price. its gourmet (Ursus, Panoramic…) or festive (Bazurto, Cocorico…) addresses and its host of activities: diving in the lake or ice-floating, driving on ice, equestrian activities on snow, sledding, escape game, snowtubing , ULM, aquatic area, open-air cinema, culinary workshops and Bun J Ride, a sort of bungee jump on skis from a springboard!
Number of open slopes:
142/164
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
390 cm (Grande Motte)
Domain closure:
May 6, 2023
Good plan:
From April 15 to May 6, the resort will be in soft-closing mode with a “Spring Break” offer of 3 to 7 nights at low prices.
Example with this short stay of 3 nights with accommodation in a studio for 4 people + ski passes and access to the Lagoon aquatic area accessible at €230/person from April 15 to 29, at €180/person the last week.
reservation.tignes.net/spring-break.html
Read alsoTignes, at the top of eternal youth
Alpe d'Huez (Isère), electro, snow and cycling
Among the activities this spring in the Isère resort, downhill mountain biking on snow.
Laurent Salino / Alpe d'Huez Tourism
When the experiential electro festival Tomorrowland Winter starts, organized until March 25 in the Isère resort, L'Alpe d'Huez (1450-3330 meters) displays a well whitened domain.
“More than 90% of the area is operational and this will be the case until the end of the season,
confirms Fabrice Boutet, director of SATA Group, the ski lift operating company.
Above 2100 meters we have never had any concerns, our fight until now had been to preserve the station return and that was done without any problem thanks to the work of the snow groomers.
With 57 cm more snow we are sure to end the winter in good conditions.
»
The opportunity or never to enjoy the spectacular panorama offered from the Pic Blanc on the peaks of Rateau, La Meije, Aiguilles d'Arves, the Belledonne range and Mont Blanc, before tackling the Sarenne, the mythical "Island in the Sun" track, accessible on skis but also by downhill mountain bike on snow during the Sarenne Snow Bike on April 15, which will mark the end of the season.
Number of open slopes
: 120 / 131
Snow cover at the top of the slopes
: 250 cm
Closure of the domain
: April 16
Good plan
: from April 8, children's ski passes (5-12 years old) are offered at -50%.
Read alsoSki: the six most technical slopes to ski down in the French Alps
Les 2 Alpes (Isère), 4-season skiing
The estate closes on April 23 before reopening on May 2.
Pyrene Duffau
Because Les 2 Alpes, in Oisans, on the borders of the Écrins National Park, has been welcoming mountain professionals and champions on its glacier for 50 years, almost every summer, the seasonality here is not quite the same as elsewhere.
“The estate closes on April 23 but reopens from May 2 until around June 30, on its highest part between 3200 and 3600 meters above sea level.
It is this last period that we call spring skiing, before we are still at the end of the winter season"
, specifies Helena Hospital, the station's press officer, recalling that
"70% of the area is located above above 2000 meters.
The Isère resort is also expanding its off-ski offer.
On April 15, it inaugurates a new black mountain bike trail in the Venosc sector: the Blackgarden.
Ideal for confirmed downhillers who would like to ski in the morning and pedal in the afternoon before enjoying, in the evening, the concerts of the France Bleu Live Festival (April 18-20) led this year by Juliette Armanet, Louise Attaque and Jenifer.
Other major events of the season: the Micro Kids (April 14-16), a slalom reserved for snowboarders aged 5 to 10 and the Patrolette (April 22), a fun day with festive challenges organized by the trackers.
Number of open slopes: 85/85
Snow cover at the top of the slopes:
160 cm
Closure of the area:
April 23, 2023 www.les2alpes.com/hiver/
SEE ALSO
- Discovery of the Eclipse, Courchevel's new black run, which hosted the 2023 World Alpine Skiing Championships.