Every alpine hotelier has a version of the same sentence: it is not like it was. That is usually anecdote. In this case it is a measurement, and a precise one.
Researchers from the University of Neuchâtel, WSL and the SLF avalanche institute analysed 45 years of snow records from eleven MeteoSwiss stations spread between 1,139 m and 2,540 m. Their finding, published in Climatic Change in 2016, is unusually blunt for a scientific abstract: snow cover duration shortened at every single site, by an average of 8.9 days per decade.
Thirty-eight days, and where they went
On average across the network, the snow season now starts 12 days later and ends 26 days earlier than it did in 1970. That is 38 days of snow cover gone in 45 years.
The two halves of that loss are not equal, and the asymmetry matters. The later start was statistically significant at only about 30% of the stations. The earlier end was significant everywhere. Autumn is arriving a little later; spring is arriving a lot earlier. Snowmelt alone accounts for 5.8 of the 8.9 days lost per decade.
Altitude did not protect anyone
The most quoted defence in alpine tourism is height: go higher and the problem goes away. The data does not support that as a general rule. The decline was measured “irrespective of elevation and region, and whether for drier or wetter locations”, across the full 1,139–2,540 m range and for every snow-depth threshold from 1 cm to 100 cm.
Peak snow depth is falling too: the annual maximum declined by between 3.9% and 10.6% per decade depending on station, and it now arrives roughly 8 to 12 days earlier per decade than it used to.
What this actually changes for a trip
Three practical consequences, and none of them is “skiing is over”.
First, the reliable weeks have shifted toward the middle of winter. That is consistent with what the booking data shows: Austrian and Italian January and February demand keeps growing while April demand falls. Second, late-season trips are a genuinely different proposition than they were a generation ago — not impossible, but altitude and aspect matter far more in April than they did. Third, the alpine industry’s response has been snowmaking, which is why recent seasons have set visitor records despite below-average natural snowfall. Visitation and snow have partly decoupled.
What the numbers say
If you want the highest probability of good natural snow cover on a given week, the measured trend points to mid-January through February, and to high-altitude, north-facing terrain for anything later. If you are booking a spring trip, choose an area whose top lifts sit well above 2,500 m rather than one whose reputation was made at 1,500 m.
And if the trip is not about snow at all, the same research is quietly good news: the alpine green season is getting longer at both ends. That is a large part of why Swiss summer tourism now outsells Swiss winter tourism.
Frequently asked questions
How much shorter is the alpine snow season than in 1970?
About 38 days shorter on average across the eleven Swiss stations studied — starting 12 days later and ending 26 days earlier — which works out to a loss of 8.9 days of snow cover per decade.
Does going to a higher resort solve the problem?
Not entirely. The study found significant declines across its full elevation range, from 1,139 m to 2,540 m. Altitude helps at the margin, especially in spring, but it did not exempt any station in the dataset.
Why are ski resorts still setting visitor records then?
Largely because of snowmaking and the concentration of demand into the reliable mid-winter weeks. Recent seasons have posted record visitation despite below-average natural snowfall, which suggests visits and natural snow have partly decoupled.
Planning around the season rather than against it? Our Alpine City Guides give month-by-month timing for each destination.
