Early and pre-season skiing in the Alps

Looking for the best places to ski before the main winter season?

See our complete guide to early-season skiing in the Alps,
covering all the best options for September, October, November and December, with advice on glacier skiing, snow conditions and choosing the right resort.

There's more to early season skiing than squeezing in a cheeky weekend in the run up to Christmas! The first non-glacial ski slopes can open as early as October and by late November/early December, lots of high ski resorts (and a few low ones) are at least partially operational.

Indeed, so adept are some resorts at snow-making, that a good number of slopes may open even before a single flake of snow has fallen. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the Dolomites, where many skiers in the Dolomiti Superski area (e.g. Selva, Corvara, Arabba) have enjoyed hundreds of kilometres of perfectly maintained pistes in December, made entirely of artificial snow.

For those that just can't wait to hit the slopes, here is our must-read guide to pre- and early-season skiing in the Alps...

September

Skiing in September means skiing on glaciers but, with temperatures starting to drop, you might get lucky and experience fresh snow. For serious skiers we used to recommend Hintertux (Austria), where the glacier is steeper and more varied than most. However, recent hot summers have led to it now pausing skiing operations during the summer months before reopening in late September or even early October.

Zermatt and Saas-Fee (Switzerland) are other possibilities – they would certainly make livelier bases – but here the glaciers are very gentle.

October

October sees more and more glaciers open up - and, in good years, the first non-glacial terrain too. For keen skiers, Hintertux (Austria) remains one of the best options, but Sölden (Austria) also offers plenty of variety with its two extensive glaciers.

Other recommendations within our programme include Zermatt and Saas-Fee (Switzerland) and Cervinia (Italy).

November

Mid-November sees a clutch of big name resorts fire up their lifts for the first time, including Val Thorens (France), Obergurgl and Ischgl (Austria).

For serious skiers, we also recommend you consider Sölden (Austria), Cervinia (Italy) and Tignes (France). Snow conditions may already be excellent at altitude but, even if the natural stuff is in short supply, these all have enough artificial help to virtually guarantee some decent piste skiing.

December

Although a few smaller ski areas don’t open until Christmas week, most remaining ski resorts aim to open up early to mid-December, depending on snow conditions.

Lots of resorts have the potential to offer great skiing at this time but, glaciers aside, our pick of snow-sure December ski resorts would have to include Val d’Isère, Tignes and Val Thorens (France), Cervinia (Italy), Warth-Schröcken, Lech-Zürs, Sölden, Ischgl, Obergurgl and Obertauern (Austria).

Planning an early-season ski holiday?

At Snow-wise, our extensive knowledge of Alpine resorts, ski areas, hotels and, crucially, weather and snow conditions puts us in an excellent position to help you choose the right destination for an early-season ski holiday.

Whether you're looking for a cheeky pre-Christmas break or a family ski holiday over Christmas and New Year, get in touch and let us help you create the perfect tailor-made ski holiday.

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