A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
We do not show a snow depth here. The weather model we use reports snow lying on the ground — it knows nothing about grooming or snowmaking, and it is not the base depth a ski area publishes. In Japan we can check our figures against 234 weather stations. Outside Japan there is nothing to check them against, so we do not print a number we have not verified. Snow report on the official site ↗
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Showers | 0 | 5 to 10 | 12 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Showers | 0 | 5 to 10 | 10 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Rain | 0 | 3 to 5 | 8 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Cloudy | 0 | 2 to 9 | 10 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Fog | 0 | −2 to 6 | 9 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Snow | 0 | 0 to 3 | 10 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Snow | 21 | −2 to 1 | 13 |
The five add up to the 100-point Powder Score: more fresh snow, more on the way and colder air all push it up. How we measure
Bardonecchia, in Italy, runs from 1,274 m at the base to 2,384 m at the top. Its mapped area is about 5.1 km across, with 49 marked runs and 15 lifts (about 35 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 250 cm of snowfall a season, 734th (tied) of 3,069 worldwide and 20th in Italy. It swings a lot from year to year: the biggest winter, 2017/18 (472 cm), brought more than 3 times as much as the leanest, 2021/22 (148 cm). December brings as much snow as January here (68 and 66 cm on average).
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Only 47% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. The most common direction is west (52%).
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
Footage remains the copyright of each operator. JAPANSNOWLINE neither stores nor redistributes it.
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bardonecchia - Jafferau | 5.1 km | 283 cm | 554 |
| Valfréjus | 12.0 km | 333 cm | 333 |
| Montgenèvre | 14.0 km | 228 cm | 893 |
| Sansicario | 14.0 km | 231 cm | 865 |
| Sauze D'Oulx | 15.0 km | 231 cm | 865 |
The most snow falls in December. March brings 97% of January’s snowfall. That is a steeper fall than the median for ski areas in Italy (116%): the snow here is concentrated early in the season. For skiing, though, the amount matters more than the share: March brings 64 cm, more than the median of 48 cm.
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 250 cm, and 8 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2021/22 with 148 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 472 cm (3.2 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Other booking sites: Booking.com ↗ · Agoda ↗
Climate and the future · 28 Aug 2026
How Much Does Snowfall Change From One Winter to the Next? Country by CountryOver twelve winters, the typical Japanese ski area's best winter was 2.3 times its worst. In Italy and Chile it was 4.6 times, in New Zealand 4.2. Canada, Finland and Sweden come out steadier than Japan.