Slopes in March??

A snowHead

I normally do the yearly winter alps trip in early mid January. Prices are normally good, condition generally very good and importantly crowds aren't too bad.

Due to the French shut down we had to cancel this years Januaray trip. Now thinking of a Feb/March trip. Any tips / pointers on a March trip? keep high or book last minute? expect a bit of slush?

A snowHead

Saalbach offers huge skiing options and the ability to plan March skiing around some North facing slopes if things get a little warmer/softer towards the latter part of the day.

There’s a thread in ‘Resorts’ specifically for Saalbach and several local experts who I’m sure can provide some useful tips.

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@Cacciatore, my worst snow experience ever was Saalbach March 2014- ribbons of snow in green fields. Still a great place but it was dicey.

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@Nadenoodlee, I think tatmanstours referenced March 2014 as being a bit of a one-off year for lack of snowcover, as many places/resorts in Austria may well also have been.

Def unlucky for you, though I’d say it was unusual.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hoping France release restrictions and we manage to find somewhere their, just looking for some knowledge on resorts around March time.

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@Cacciatore, indeed but i’d wait a bit longer before booking up to be sure.

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@JP8891, If you can leave it a while to book, that would be good. Snow conditions can be variable at any time of the year. Generally Feb is more reliable than March, and generally conditions will be better at higher resorts than lower ones in France in March. But huge generalisations! Very Happy

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@JP8891, If you are thinking of France (and restrictions are eased there in the near future) I would go as soon as French school holidays end...ie around mid March.. Prices are reasonable and most resorts will still have good snow and not be as busy as half term/New Year but probably busier than January. However the lifts will be open longer.

It is impossible to know what the conditions will be at this stage but you need to be prepared for the runs getting softer from lunchtime onwards. We regularly ski in France in April so I would not say March is too late!

I think a resort like Les Arcs would be a good option from what you've said.

@JP8891, ahhh, apologies, thought you were seeking non-France options.

I’ve skied, at various times of the season, including March, in Serre Chevalier. Mostly North facing slopes. Never had a bad experience. I think, this year, they’ve possibly not had so much snow but, plenty of time between now and then.

Even if things get a bit sketchy on the resort runs, there are loads of options mid-station upwards.

What other criteria (apart from snow) are important? May help narrow down the responses.

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We have 2 little ones who started ski school (esf 2 years ago when we last went), so family friendly is a top priority. Good domain size is probably next up their.

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Kinderhotel Ballunspitze is absolutely brilliant - In Gaultur but you obviously have Ischgl too.

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The first week after the French school hols this year is, I think, 5 - 12 March. Definitely the best week of the season in French resorts - best combination of weather, quiet slopes, low season accommodation (and ski lesson) costs and snow depth. Infinitely preferable to early January or half term.

You know it makes sense.

In general the snow depth is at a maximum in March. To me mid March is peak season tapering down to mid April. This is, however, for the high Freanch resorts. My limited experience of the Dolomites and Austria in late March is that the snow is thinning rapidly and baring vegetation. Zermatt and Verbier were fine.

I'll be heading off to Les Arcs at the end of March for a couple of weeks.

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Avoid February if you're going to France, apart from the very first week of Feb, which for me is probably the best of the season. Empty slopes, cold and good snow.

March can also be lovely though, especially if you've got little ones. The weather will be a bit warmer, but not so warm that you're skiing in slush. Early March probably better. If you go late March, go high.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Not much choice at the moment about booking late, with the travel restrictions changing all the time. But regardless of that, booking late makes sense at that time of year. There will be plenty of accommodation available in French resorts, at low season prices, and you can make a choice based on current conditions, rather than guesswork.

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It is astonishing, really, that Christmas and New Year, with short hours of daylight and often low snow depths, is seen nowadays as "peak season" and mid March as "too late".

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I’d say that skiing is really a spring sport with a bit of winter thrown in. Every year we witness poor weather and unreliable skiing in the high resorts in December and January. By March however everything is usually open, the off piste is skiable and the days are sunny and long. April sometimes has the best skiing of the whole season but you need to be high.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

When our children were younger, we always skied the first week of April to coincide with school holidays and found this better than New Year. The days are longer, it's warmer and the children could play in the snow without getting cold. In April there's a bit of slush by 2:30pm, but as you're considering March this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I think, as others have said, that mid-March is an ideal time as the school holidays are over and you generally get good weather. Just make sure you are high up so the snow cover is good.

In terms of family-friendly, I would also consider the piste layout. Resorts which are more "bowl"-like lend themselves to family skiing as you always ski down to the same place, and it's easy for one of the adults to nip off for a bit of fast skiing and meet up with the others. Two resorts that spring to mind are Val Thorens and La Toussuire. (full disclosure - I'm a big fan of La Toussuire as we go there every year)

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I agree the first week after the end of French school hols is an ideal time to go. You may get sunny warm days, but you could easily get some fresh snow. In France I'd be tempted to head for a resort above 1400m, with access to plenty of higher altitude skiing. Personally I'm not a fan of slush and would rather ski in really cold weather. You can't go wrong with most of the 3V (though I'm not a fan of the skiing down to the Chaudanne in Meribel at that time of year) or any of the Tarantasie resorts to be honest. Anywhere with a lot of south facing slopes can be a bit of a chore. Its a time where VT comes into its own if it's warm.

After all it is free

I think that Bormio is a great place to go to, and a good shout for Spring skiing. North facing slopes, most above 2000 metres on the main mountain. Hire a car from the airport as the lift pass allows you to ski in Santa Caterina and Livigno as well - both of which have ski areas at a decent altitude with slopes facing the right way (for that time of year). The last time I went was end of March 2019, and the snow was firm and plentiful in all three ski areas. The only exception is the Stelvio track back down to Bormio at the end of the day, lots of slush but you can get the cable car down if you don't fancy it.

Bormio is a really nice valley town, lots of very nice 3, 4 and 5 star hotels at competitive rates. The same hotels would be twice the price, maybe three times, in places like Val d'Isere or Meribel. Lots of nice, well-priced restaurants serving pizzas, pastas, steaks and a couple of decent bars.

Since having kids we've gone 1st week of Easter holidays for years (the last two years obviously didn't happen) and it's been brilliant. Perfect week for skiing for me if I didn't have kids would be the week before school holidays - cheaper, quieter and lovely to sit out on a veranda at lunch.

We went high though. Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne and Alpe D'Huez. Although ADH was the year of the beast from the east - imagine it could get really slushy most Easter due to it being a south facing bowl.

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My friends and I have been going to Austria either the first or 2nd week in March for well over 10 years and conditions are generally good.
Most years we get significant fresh snow - enough to spend hours or even days off piste.
We do pay a little bit of attention to the height, if we go to a lower resort we'll do the first week in March rather than the 2nd.

We shifted to March from February cause we seemed to always have holiday weeks with no fresh snowfall during the whole week.

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Slopes in March??

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