Autumn bike ride above Verbier before the first snow of winter 2026/27

Still getting my daily 500 vertical metres in on the bike, but winter is coming to Verbier.

The pine cones have spoken. There are loads of them this year and apparently that means we are in for a massive winter. Science says this is complete rubbish, but I am ignoring science and going with the local mystics. I did my first ski season in Val d’Isère in 1988, then eventually found my way to Verbier in 2006 via Chamonix and a season in Zermatt. I haven’t missed a winter since. Nearly 40 winters in the Alps and I’ve learnt one thing. When the old boys start looking at the trees and saying there is a lot of snow coming, you listen.

Then there is everything else. El Niño is stirring, everyone is talking about the polar vortex and now we have the rather ominous North Atlantic Cold Blob sitting south of Greenland while the scientists argue about what the AMOC is doing. Does any of this actually mean Verbier is going to get buried this winter? Probably not. But the weather is finally turning, snow is forecast on the mountain on Thursday and my new Nordica Unleashed 108s have arrived. 191cm and definitely not bought for skiing around on hard pistes. At some point coincidence becomes a forecast. Admittedly, probably not a forecast recognised by MeteoSwiss.

So here we go. I’m still getting my daily 500 vertical metres in on the bike while I can, but my head has definitely turned to winter. Pine cones everywhere, the Cold Blob is doing its thing, snow is coming and the Unleashed are ready. Will Thursday’s snow still be there next week? Probably not. Do I care? Not really. I said months ago that I had a feeling about this winter and I’m sticking with it. Winter 2026/27. This could be the big one. Winter Unleashed.

If you’re planning to ski Verbier this winter, book your private ski lessons early and let’s hope the pine cones know something MeteoSwiss doesn’t.

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