Ranking
Ski in, ski out: where natural snow reaches the village
Which resorts' villages have had natural snow on the ground most reliably, so you can ski back to the door, from eleven winters of weather data.
The short answer
Natural snow at the village is far rarer than on the upper mountain. Of the 44 resorts Cirque models, 12 have a village that was snow-sure in at least one month. Val Thorens leads, at 1,800 m.
A village counts as snow-sure for a month when it had 30 cm or more of modelled natural snow on at least 90% of days in at least 9 of the last 11 winters. The best month figure is the highest monthly share of days with 30 cm or more.
The ranking
1. Val Thorens, France, village at 1,800 m: snow-sure in 4 months; best month 100% of days.
2. Jackson Hole, USA, village at 1,924 m: snow-sure in 2 months; best month 100% of days.
3. Niseko United, Japan, village at 260 m: snow-sure in 2 months; best month 100% of days.
4. Vail, USA, village at 2,475 m: snow-sure in 2 months; best month 99% of days.
5. Alta, USA, village at 2,600 m: snow-sure in 2 months; best month 98% of days.
6. Aspen Snowmass, USA, village at 2,473 m: snow-sure in 2 months; best month 96% of days.
7. Cardrona, New Zealand, village at 1,670 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 99% of days.
8. Cervinia, Italy, village at 2,050 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 89% of days.
9. Mammoth Mountain, USA, village at 2,424 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 88% of days.
10. Treble Cone, New Zealand, village at 1,200 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 88% of days.
11. Valle Nevado, Chile, village at 2,860 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 83% of days.
12. Big Sky, USA, village at 2,072 m: snow-sure in 1 month; best month 82% of days.
13. The Remarkables, New Zealand, village at 1,586 m: snow-sure in 0 months; best month 86% of days.
14. Banff Sunshine, Canada, village at 1,660 m: snow-sure in 0 months; best month 82% of days.
15. Verbier, Switzerland, village at 1,500 m: snow-sure in 0 months; best month 80% of days.
Questions
Which ski villages have the most reliable snow?
Of the resorts Cirque models, Val Thorens, Jackson Hole and Niseko United, ranked by months in which the village was snow-sure.
Why is the village less snowy than the slopes?
It is lower and warmer. Natural snow depth falls quickly with height, especially early and late in the season.
Does this include snowmaking?
No. These are modelled natural snow figures only, from ERA5 weather. Groomed pistes with snowmaking often ski better than this.