Easter is over, the days are getting longer and longer and a promising spring scent is in the air. The real winter is over, but luckily, winter sports aren’t just yet! “Where can you still ski in May?” Many winter sports fans ask themselves this question, but SnowTrex knows where you can still ski in May in Europe.
Skiing in Austria
Skiing and snowboarding on the Hintertux Glacier is always possible – regardless of when you feel like it. Austria’s only year-round ski area is actually open all year round – with varying lengths of piste. The highest lift reaches up to 3,250 m and, depending on the weather and snow conditions, the full 60 kilometres of piste and 20 lifts operate here until May. During the summer, these are then reduced to about 20 km of piste and about 10 lifts. Highlights that are accessible all year round include the panorama terrace and the “Natur Eis Palast” glacier cave at the Gletscherbus 3 mountain station.
In Austria, you can also make your way through the snow at the Stubai Glacier at the beginning of May. The ski area at the Stubai Glacier (3,210 m) in the Stubai Valley is considered one of the most comfortable ski areas in Austria and has something to offer all skill levels. Until the middle of May, skiing at the Mölltal Glacier (3,120 m) in Carinthia is also excellent. The ski area on the Kitzsteinhorn (3,029 m) in Zell am See-Kaprun is usually open even longer.
Skiing in France
What better place for spring skiing than at the highest ski station in Europe: Val Thorens lies at 2,300 m and is surrounded by the most popular slopes of the famous Trois Vallées. The pistes reach up to 3,230 m, therefore ensuring snow-sure heights. During the “Apotheose Days” at the beginning of May, which loosely translated means “divine ski days”, sports activities, live music on the slopes, children’s entertainment and street art for the whole family are offered at the end of the season. Val Thorens is well known for its diverse recreational programme and will once again live up to this reputation at the end of the season.
Located just a bit lower than Val Thorens, at 2,100 m, is the ski station of Tignes. Embedded in the mountain world of the French Northern Alps, it lies below the Grande Motte (3,656 m) and thus has snow-sure glacier runs to offer even in May. The holiday week over the first of May is usually very quiet here, allowing you to look forward to free skiing on the glacier. The end of the season is, as in Val Thorens, only at the beginning/middle of May, but this also lasts only for a short time, as from June/July, most of the times, the summer operations on the glacier start again. After all, about 20 km of pistes including a snowpark are open then.
Skiing in Switzerland
What the ski area on the Hintertux Glacier is to Austria is what the Zermatt ski area (3,883 m) is to Switzerland: here, in the highest ski area in Europe, the season lasts the whole year round: 365 days of pure fun on the piste! On the Italian side of the Matterhorn Ski Paradise ski circuit, the Cervinia ski area is still open until early/mid-May.
In addition, the Engelberg-Titlis ski area (3,020 m) also offers sunshine skiing in May! The season here usually runs until the end of May.
Skiing in Norway
The ski season is far from over in May, not just in the Alpine countries, but also in the North of Europe. In Norway’s Ofoten, for example, the Fagernessfjellet-Narvik ski area is still open throughout May. There are a total of 20 kilometres of pistes, at altitudes between 200 and 1,003 metres. Too low? Not at all! Norway is also a wonderful place to ski at such low altitudes. In the Fagernessfjellet-Narvik ski area, you can also enjoy a magnificent view of the fjords and Narvik harbour. Another good place to ski in May in Norway is the Hovden ski area in the Setesdal region.
Skiing in Sweden
Lapland in Sweden also offers winter sports fans wonderful conditions for skiing and snowboarding in May, like in the Riksgränsen ski area. Skiers will find 21 kilometres of pistes of varying degrees of difficulty. The ski area is one of the northernmost ski areas in the world and is situated at altitudes between 522 and 909 metres. Winter sports fans will also find wonderful slope conditions in the Kåbdalis ski area in May.
Skiing in Finland
In the Levi ski area in Finland, the season usually ends when the first days of May have already passed. The ski area in Finnish Lapland offers winter sports fans almost 44 kilometres of piste. There are also around 6 km of ski routes. Even though the World Cup winter sports area is only located at altitudes between 206 and 531 metres, the snow conditions up here in the North are still ideal even in May. The same applies to the Ruka ski area in the Nordösterbotten region of Finland.
There is no official end to the winter season. SnowTrex has put together other ski areas where skiing is possible in summer.
