Is Cervinia colder than most resorts in the Alps?

A snowHead

I usually ski at Easter, so extreme cold is a very unlikely to be problem. But next year we might have to ski in December or February, so I was checking out temperatures at the resorts I was considering. I was astonished to see that Cervinia has average temperatures that are quite considerably lower than most of the resorts. For instance, this website says that the average maximum in December is -8°:

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Breuil-weather-averages/Valle-Daosta/IT.aspx

Most other resorts I have tried tend to be more around 0°. For instance, average Dec maximum of 2° in Lech:

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Lech-weather-averages/Vorarlberg/AT.aspx

I tried several other resorts (Verbier, Obergurgl, Chamonix, Tignes) but they all seem to be significantly warmer than Cervinia. However, Zermatt seems to have similar temperatures to Cervinia, which makes sense as they neighbour each other either side of the Matterhorn.

I checked a couple of other weather sites and they consistently report the same sort of temperatures for Cervinia, so it is not just an error in the website.

What's puzzling me is that I had not particularly thought of Cervinia (or Zermatt) as being unusually cold resorts. -8° isn't particularly a problem, but this is just the average maximum. Actual temperatures will fluctuate around the average, so if the average is 10° lower than, say, Lech or Tignes, the coldest days are probably also going to be colder than other resorts. In fact, the following website suggests that absolute minimum temperatures in Cervinia in December are -29°:

http://www.meoweather.com/history/Italy/na/45.9333333/7.6333333/Breuil-Cervinia.html?#

The statistics seem to indicate that, on average, Christmas or February half term are likely to be about 10° colder in Cervinia than in, say, Lech or Tignes. So if I am skiing with children at Christmas or half term and I want a lower risk of getting days that are so cold that it might spoil their skiing, I should avoid Cervinia or Zermatt? (I'm sure you can get hellishly cold days in Lech or Tignes, but the statistics seem to say that if you get a cold snap in those resorts it is less likely to be unbearably cold than a cold snap in Cervinia.)

Can anyone confirm if this is correct, or is there a factor that I am overlooking? I realise that wind chill is very important, but I don't think Cervinia has a reputation for being unusually calm, so I don't think this would alter my conclusion. I have only skied Cervinia and Zermatt once, and it was not particularly cold then as far as I can remember, but one week is hardly evidence of average temperatures.

A snowHead

I think there is some flaw in the stats you are using.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

koru, Cervinia is high and exposed, so hardly any tree skiing and it can be prone to high winds. However, like anywhere you are at the mercy of the weather conditions at the time. I was in Cervinia from 26th Feb to 4th March this year in a complete heatwave. Daytime temperatures ranged from +6 to +18º (I kid you not!) and we were skiing in T-shirts, no hats or gloves. Even night temperatures barely dropped below freezing. Naturally the snow was rubbish with such heat going on. I think it was much the same all over the western Alps that week. I would say the only difference with Cervinia is that the only lower and more sheltered slopes if it gets too cold/windy would be the ones over at Valtournenche. From memory Tignes is much the same, high, exposed and can be windswept at times. There are no guarantees with weather.

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I think the temperature is *fairly* immaterial to how cold you feel. Wind and moisture are the key things. I've skied down to about -20 or so but by far the most often I've been cold is in Scotland in a hoolie probably just above freezing.

Regarding Cervinia, in my very limited experience (one day) it was horribly horribly cold and we quickly scarpered back across to Zermat for warmth. However it wasn't the temperature that was the problem, it was the wind (as above). Zermat had been -12C most mornings and had been fine, but the wind in Cervinia was awful.

My kids learned to ski in La Plagne when they were 4 and 6. It was well into double negative figures (-16C perhaps) but they were fine as the air was so dry and so still

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koru, Not especially cold, the village is high (2000m) and the ski slopes up to 3800m so it can be cold and exposed, but Cervinia is however south facing, so can be warm in the sun!

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We had pretty much most of the week hovering just below freezing when we were there last December. I remember sitting out on Christmas day in the sun with my jacket off. But then our last day we got stuck on a lift for a while as it was so windy and I think it's the coldest I've ever been on a mountain.

Apart from the wind on the last day I can't say I noticed it as being any colder than anywhere else we've been for the same week over the last 5 years. Actually I can't remember having sat out without my jacket on anywhere else over that time.

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

koru, there is simply no way that Cervinia exists in some peculiar 10C cooler than the rest of the Alps cold pool.

When comparing any figures you want to compare like with like. Crucially for temperature the measurement needs to be a comparison of equivalent temperatures. Cervinia is high 2000m ish. Chamonix is about 1000m so you could account for a lot of the temperature difference from the measurements relating to very different altitudes. That said you would not be skiing most of the time at a particularly different altitude.

After all it is free

Cervinia/Zermatt has the highest piste skiing in Europe, 4000m. It's bound to be a bit nippy with a bit of a draft at that altitude. I've been to Zermatt twice, January 2008 and February 2009 and didn't notice it being particularly cold except for one particularly windy day coming back over the top from Cervinia when it blew a gale.

It can't have been too bad in Cervinia on this day

I've skied in -34 (according to one of the big digital piste-side thermometers) somewhere - I think it was Courchevel or maybe Val d'Isere. I felt warm as toast, even on the lifts.

I think the key thing is, dress properly and you'll be fine, pretty much whatever European ski resorts can throw at you.

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koru, Skied Cervinia 21st April with -18 C at Plateau Rosa, fresh snow. snowHead

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Thanks everybody. No one seems to be saying that Cervinia is renowned for especially cold weather, which confirms that these statistics are dodgy in some way.

Although Chamonix was not a good comparison, Tignes and Obergurgl are both as high as Cervinia at resort level, so I don't think resort altitude explains the apparent temperature difference. I wonder if the Cervinia weather station happens to be way up on the pass over to Zermatt, whereas Tignes and Obergurgl are being measured at resort level? It would be pretty stupid, but it is the only explanation I can think of.

You know it makes sense.

I skied Cervinia the first week in February about 10 years ago. I recollect that every day seemed cold and windy. I recollect that there was a thermometer on one of the top lift stations that showed -27C one morning. Having only spent a week there I have no idea of the typical conditions, but it was certainly one of the coldest weeks skiing that I have experienced.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Very little of the skiing goes down to resort level in Chamonix: you spend your time up high.

A snowHead

I think the problem with Cervinia is the wind. The runs are very exposed and with long chairs you can get really cold, or at least I did!

A snowHead

I think the coldest I have ever felt was 1 day dropping over from Cervinia to Zermatt but that was only for a couple of hundred yards. After that it was just pretty average and we sat outside a bar at the bottom. In fact you'd think the Swiss side would be colder being on the North face.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

koru, I believe there is a lot of variability with how resorts report temperature, snowfall, and in particular snow depth. Weather websites just regurgitate data provided. I don't know particulars of Cervinia and in the mountains there can be significant local microclimates but with many resorts particularly Italian ones I would take a lot of that with grain of salt

Help!!

Is Cervinia colder than most resorts in the Alps?

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