Skiing in October: where to find snow before the French resorts open?
✍️ SnowFinder editorial team📅 5 October 2026⏱ 4 min
October brings the first snow to the peaks, but French lifts are still closed: Tignes and Val Thorens, the first to open, are aiming for 21 November. To get your skis on earlier, look to the neighbouring glaciers in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Here is where and when, with one caveat: all these dates are provisional.
🏔 Glaciers above 3,000 m
🇦🇹 Austria leads
🇫🇷 France: 21 November
Where to ski before the French season
From October
Saas-Fee (Switzerland). The Allalin glacier, up to 3,500 m, partly reopened in early October with the Allalin 2 and Allalin 3 lifts. The lower lifts remain closed.
October
Sölden (Austria). Skiable on its Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers, above 3,000 m. Autumn skiing is expected there until 11 November, depending on snow cover.
23 October
Glacier du Mölltal (Austria). The winter season starts after a short closure in September–October.
24 October
Breuil-Cervinia (Italy). The ski area, linked to Zermatt on the Swiss side, opens at the end of the month.
21 November
Tignes and Val Thorens. The first two French resorts: the Grande Motte glacier at Tignes, a high-altitude ski area at Val Thorens.
28 November
Les 2 Alpes. Opening planned for late November, with a glacier rising to 3,600 m.
⚠️
Beware the trap. Les 2 Alpes runs some lifts in mid-October, but only for walkers and mountain bikers, not for skiing. And all the dates above may shift by a few days depending on the snow: always check the piste map before you set off.
Why the glaciers open first
Above 3,000 m, temperatures drop below freezing earlier in autumn and the snow lasts better. That is why the season starts up there, often with a limited number of runs: just a few lifts and a handful of runs at first. By contrast, mid-mountain resorts such as those in the Massif Central or the Vosges can only count on the cold of December or January.
📍 Les 2 Alpes — skiing planned to open on 28 November, with a glacier at 3,600 m
Should you go in October?
It's worth it if you already ski well, are keen to get on snow ahead of everyone else and have a flexible budget for travel. Otherwise, it's better to aim for late November and December, when the choice of runs is much wider. To keep track of snow conditions, our snow reliability page is updated regularly, and our 2026-2027 opening calendar lists all the French opening dates.
Key takeaways
Who it's for independent skiers, keen to get the season started early
Where Swiss, Austrian and Italian glaciers before 21 November
Catch limited runs at first and dates that depend on the snow
In France Tignes and Val Thorens on 21 November, Les 2 Alpes on the 28th
Skiing in October is possible, but not in France. If you can't wait, the nearby glaciers offer a taste of the season. Otherwise, keep 21 November in mind: the first French resorts are not far away now.
