Best Snow Sure Resorts in Switzerland

With some of the highest ski slopes in Europe, plenty of Switzerland's biggest ski resorts also provide access to glacier skiing where the snow lies year-round. This enables them to operate from mid-autumn (November or even as early as October in some cases) through to May the following spring when the snow has all gone elsewhere.   

With many also having large snowmaking systems covering their slopes, Swiss ski resorts are definitely among the better choices when it comes to finding a snow-safe ski holiday choice.

Verbier 

Verbier has been voted the Best Ski Resort in Europe on multiple occasions and for its many fans around the world it’s easy to see why. The lifts and runs here top out above 3,300 metres above sea level and the resort’s Mont Fort glacier has opened for summer skiing in past seasons. Open from November to May, this is one of Europe’s most snow safe destinations.  

Zermatt 

One of the world’s best ski resorts, Zermatt has the highest ski lifts in Europe and endeavours to open 365 days a year – only the early months of the pandemic in 2020 and exceptional heat melting the snow cover for 7 weeks in summer 2022 have broken its record of non-stop year-round opening since the turn of the century. With its stunning location beneath the mighty Matterhorn this is one of the greatest, as well as most snow safe ski resorts in the world. 

Engelberg 

Engelberg is one of the easiest resorts to reach for a quick ski break with fast transfers from Zurich. The airport is served by plenty of early morning and late evening business flights that are happily also perfectly timed to get you on the slopes early doors, or home after the last lift ride of the afternoon. However, it also has one of the best snowfall records in Switzerland, often reaching a 5 or 6 metre (20 feet!) snow depth by early spring up on the Titlis glacier high above the resort. The icing on the cake are super-fast lifts to whisk you up the 1500-plus vertical metres from the resort to the top of the slopes. The deep-snow and glacier combination give it a long season from mid-October to mid-June some years.  

Murren 

One of the oldest and most stunningly located ski resorts in Switzerland, Murren in the incredibly scenic Jungfrau region, also has some of the area’s highest and most snow-safe terrain. The altitude here means that the lifts can keep running until May. In recent years the resort has taken the unusual decision to close the slopes to Alpine skiers for the final few days of the season (having already made it into May by which time most resorts have closed anyway) and then open the remaining runs exclusively to telemark skiers for the final days of the season.  

Crans Montana 

Crans Montana is an unusual Swiss destination having south-facing slopes, which gives it a lovely, sunny ambience but of course exposes the snow to the direct hear of the sun (most ski areas have slopes with a north facing orientation, or North-easterly or North-westerly. Crans Montana’s secret though is that its slopes climb up to 3,000m above sea-level and have a glacier up at the top, so it can open from mid-autumn and in recent years has kept some of its terrain open to late May or even early June, it’s that snow safe. 

Glacier 3000 (Gstaad) 

Although Gstaad does not have the highest lifts in the country, its ski area makes it one of Switzerland's biggest ski resorts. Most importantly it includes the separate Glacier 3000 area above the neighbouring village of Les Diablerets. This does have ski slopes above 3,000m (as its name suggests!) and is so snow safe that it often opens in October and has stayed open through to the following May and June some years. 

Saas Fee 

Thanks to its glacier Saas Fee has one of the longest ski seasons in the world, opening in mid-July each year for summer skiing then staying open for eight months through to late April the following year. It’s a top choice for ski racers looking for a summer training venue and Britain’s Dave Ryding skis here a lot when the rest of us are lying on a beach. Although not one of Switzerland's biggest ski resorts, its top lift reaching 3.573m above sea level is one of Europe’s highest - accessing some of the most snow safe terrain in the world.