© Verbier
January in Verbier: What's on and weather
Quiet slopes, great atmosphere and some special events
It's very cold and the days are short, but the skies are blue and the pistes are quiet.
After the Christmas and New Year holidays are over, January is the quietest part of the winter season in Verbier. This means you have the slopes to yourselves, rarely have to queue for a lift and can enjoy pistes in great condition.
The quiet conditions on the mountain don’t translate to quiet nights in the town. There are fewer families and more adult visitors, meaning it can be easier to get a table at a restaurant, and the bars are buzzing with plenty of live music and party nights to keep you entertained whilst you warm your hands on a glass of vin chaud.
Read on for a look at what we like to do in resort throughout January.
Worth knowing
This is only a small selection of the events taking place in Verbier during the first month of the year. Take a look at our events calendar for a full rundown.
What are the weather and snow conditions like?
There is regular snowfall - on average 11 days - and subzero temperatures keep it nice and fresh. In January the days start to get longer and the sun gets higher in the sky. As a result, the slopes see more hours of sunshine than in December. However, the temperature still tends to be cold and we can get a lot of snow. The average daytime temperatures generally fall between a high of 1°C and a low of -7ºC, getting around five hours of sunshine. Definitely pack those thermals!
What's on in Verbier in January?
Freeride Week
One of the highlights of the Freeride World Tour competition season is most probably this week in Verbier.
ISTA Safety Days
A series of in-depth avalanche safety courses held by the International Snow Training Academy. The courses will offer you an invaluable opportunity to learn the dangers of avalanches, how to read the snow, transceiver use and emergency procedures. Whether you’re just beginning to push yourself into dangerous terrain, or are an experienced freeride skier, you can never have too much avalanche safety training.
At time of writing the dates for the courses had not been confirmed.
Skiing
With all those empty pistes, no lift queues and perfect conditions, we like to get out into the mountains on our skis and snowboards as much as possible.
If you visit the resort in January you can buy a lift pass and join one of the local ski schools' many ski or snowboard lessons taking place around the resort.
Things to do
Alternative winter sports
It doesn't just have to be piste based adventures you take part in. Ski-touring and split-boarding have become extremely popular in recent years, and there's nothing that gets the heart pumping like gaining altitude under your own steam. When it's a 'white out' you'll find us changing tack entirely, pulling on some raquettes (snowshoes) and venturing forth into the wilderness on one of the many snowshoeing routes around the valley, all the while dreaming of tomorrow's bluebird powder day.
With that in mind, why join in on a night snowshoe trek? Enjoy the magic of the forest after dark by simply booking at the tourist office. Or if you take your winter sports more seriously there's a trail run at the end of the month with a choice of two course lengths.
Bars and clubs
At this time of the season we are looking forward to some live music sessions, whether from local bands or even one of the open mike nights and jam sessions that the local bars often hold. So, whether you fancy yourself an Adele, Bob Dylan or a Satriani, there's definitely somewhere you can 'entertain' the crowds.
Of course, that's if we've made it home from one of the many après-ski events taking place every evening across town.
