In the face of continued global warming and changing climates, this challenge, among others such as shorter overall season lengths, will continue to persist. The 2023–2024 season saw significant variation in snowfall, as well as season length across our surveyed resorts. These factors have resulted in some reshuffling in our rankings. Breuil-Cervinia in Italy climbed four positions to take the top spot in our index, boosted significantly by a longer season and improved snowfall reliability than last year. The French resort of Val Thorens also saw one of the largest increases across the index of ten places. It has taken third overall in our rankings, with the market enjoying a long ski season and significant annual snowfall.

Zermatt, consistently at the top of the rankings, has fallen this year to fifth place. This Swiss resort is located at the base of the large Matterhorn Glacier, which has traditionally afforded it one of the longest winter seasons and reliable snowfall. As several lower-ranked resorts saw gains, Zermatt has fallen in rankings despite conditions being consistent with last season.

Other large changes in our index include the two Japanese resorts of Niseko and Furano. Both saw falls in their resilience rankings, with Niseko Index score declining by twelve places. The previous season, these Japanese resorts saw record-breaking snowfall, so while they may have fallen in the rankings, this represents a return to trend.

Markets across the Americas almost universally saw declines in rankings, with the exception of Vail, which remained in second place. The El Niño weather pattern caused below-average snowfall and warmer temperatures in North America. This weather event influenced the Canadian resorts of Whistler Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant, which fell in the rankings by ten and eleven places, respectively.

In France, resorts have seen a comparatively high variation in rankings year on year compared to other countries. At one end of the spectrum, Val Thorens climbed into the top three, while Tignes jumped 17 places to tenth. Other markets, such as Flaine, have travelled in the opposite direction, falling by ten places. French resorts have historically seen larger variations in snowfall, so these changes are not out of the ordinary.

Altitude is a significant contributing factor. Higher altitude resorts tend to have longer seasons and better reliability than resorts situated at lower elevations. It is no surprise then that the top five markets in our index all sit at the high end of the altitude scale, and resorts that saw declines, such as those in Canada and Japan, are among the lowest altitude destinations. As circumstances continue to change, it follows that high mountain resorts will likely remain the most resilient destinations for winter sport. The possible exception to this is Norway, which benefits from a northerly latitude compared to more traditional European resorts. New entrant Geilo, to the north west of Oslo, features 20th in our index.

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