Chamonix vs Zermatt: which has better snow?
Chamonix gets snow more often than Zermatt: about 50 snowy days across the four core winter months against 44, at mid-mountain, averaged over 2016 to 2025. Zermatt goes higher, with a top lift at 3,883 m (12,700 ft).
Chamonix and Zermatt side by side
Snow record figures are for mid-mountain, 2016 to 2025, from ERA5 reanalysis.
| Chamonix | Zermatt | |
|---|---|---|
| Top lift | 3,842 m (12,600 ft) | 3,883 m (12,700 ft) |
| Village | 1,035 m (3,400 ft) | 1,620 m (5,300 ft) |
| Snowy days a year | 93 | 93 |
| Snowiest month | December | November |
| Snowy days in the four winter months | 50 | 44 |
| January temperatures | −12 to −5 °C (10 to 23 °F) | −15 to −8 °C (5 to 18 °F) |
| Snow on the ground on Christmas Day | 10 of 10 years | 10 of 10 years |
| Snowiest recent winter | 2017/18, 33% above average | 2023/24, 41% above average |
| Forecast, next 7 days | Out of season | No snow this week |
What the numbers can and cannot tell you
Both resorts are measured the same way, which is what makes this a fair comparison: the same climate record, the same ten years, each at the height halfway between its village and top lift. It compares how often it snows and how cold it is, not total snowfall in centimetres, which the record underestimates in the mountains. It is also not a comparison of the skiing. Terrain, lift systems, crowds, price and how well a resort holds its snow on the slopes that matter are not in this data.
For the full picture of each, see the Chamonix snow forecast and the Zermatt snow forecast, which include month-by-month records and every winter since 2016.