I’ve been snowboarding for years and skiing for decades. I’ve had plenty of trips where the snow hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. You spend months looking forward to a holiday, checking the forecasts obsessively, only to arrive and find half the mountain closed.
That’s always been part of winter sports. Some seasons are brilliant, others are rubbish. But there’s a difference between getting unlucky with the weather and the longer-term changes happening in the mountains.
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), published on November 3, 2026, looks at how rising temperatures and changing snowfall are affecting ski resorts. And some of the figures are pretty grim.
We’re Losing Snow Days
Research cited in the report suggests that snow cover is lasting around five fewer days per decade across mountain regions, with lower elevations particularly badly affected.
Five days might not sound like much, but over thirty or forty years, that’s a sizeable chunk of the winter gone.
Another study, covering 2,234 ski resorts across 28 European countries, found that 53% would face a very high risk of insufficient snow at 2°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, without artificial snowmaking.
That doesn’t mean half of Europe’s resorts are about to close. It’s a projection under a particular warming scenario, but it’s still a worrying number.
I’ve ridden plenty of resorts where the pistes are beautifully groomed despite there being barely any natural snow beyond the edges. Snowmaking is impressive, but it has its limits. You still need sufficiently cold conditions, plenty of water and a substantial amount of electricity.
For big resorts with deep pockets, investing in better snowmaking might be manageable. Smaller, lower-altitude ski areas won’t necessarily have that option, especially if their seasons are already getting shorter.
And when those places struggle, it’s not just skiers and snowboarders who lose out. It’s the local hotels, restaurants, instructors and businesses that depend on winter visitors.
The Alps Are Already Feeling It
Switzerland provides some particularly striking examples.
Below 800 metres, the number of days with snowfall has halved since 1970. The average winter freezing level has also risen from around 600 metres to 850 metres above sea level.
That extra 250 metres matters enormously to resorts sitting near the snowline.
Then there are the glaciers. Following another exceptionally warm summer, Swiss glaciers recorded their second-worst annual mass balance in 2026, behind only 2022. They’ve lost almost 20% of their ice volume since 2021.
I find that particularly depressing. Some of my favourite memories from snowboarding trips are as much about the mountain scenery as the riding itself, and it’s hard to get your head around that much ice disappearing in just five years.
Even the professional racing calendar is being disrupted. FIS recorded 25 Ski World Cup race cancellations due to adverse weather during the 2025/26 season.
Not all of those were caused by insufficient snow. Heavy snowfall, wind and unsafe conditions can be just as disruptive, which is worth remembering when people talk about climate change as though every winter is simply getting warmer and drier.
What Does This Mean for Skiers and Snowboarders?
I don’t think we need to start writing off our favourite resorts (yet).
Altitude and geography make a huge difference, and there will still be winters with incredible snowfall. One terrible December doesn’t mean a resort is finished, just as one amazing powder season doesn’t mean everything is fine.
But I would be more cautious about booking a low-altitude resort in early December or late April. I’d want to know how much terrain sits higher up, and how dependent the resort is on artificial snow, before spending a small fortune on a trip.
The report is really aimed at resort operators, helping them use weather forecasts and climate projections to make better decisions. For the rest of us, it’s a reminder that the snow conditions we’ve taken for granted aren’t necessarily going to stay the same.
I’m heading back to Japan in January, and I’m still every bit as excited about it as I was years ago. I’m certainly not planning to give up snowboarding.
But I do wonder what the mountains will look like when my kids are older. Whether the smaller resorts will still be around, and whether a decent snow season will become something you have to travel further and pay considerably more to find.
I hope not. I’d quite like them to enjoy the same winters I’ve been lucky enough to experience.
