Hapfere - Plaffeien is a ski area in Switzerland, at about 885 m. Its mapped area is about 0.6 km across, with 2 marked runs and 1 lift (about 1 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 135 cm of snowfall a season, 1,877th (tied) of 3,069 worldwide and 259th in Switzerland. It swings a lot from year to year: the biggest winter, 2017/18 (185 cm), brought more than twice as much as the leanest, 2024/25 (69 cm). January is usually the snowiest month, with about 43 cm.
Snow depth and the seven-day outlook appear here once snow starts to fall. Until then, the long-run record comes first.
Elevation of the ski area’s centre point, taken from a digital elevation model. It is not the base-to-summit range.
We do not show a snow depth here. The weather model we use reports snow lying on the ground — it knows nothing about grooming or snowmaking, and it is not the base depth a ski area publishes. In Japan we can check our figures against 234 weather stations. Outside Japan there is nothing to check them against, so we do not print a number we have not verified. Snow report on the official site ↗
How much snow it gets
Measured by us across 3,069 ski areas by one identical method. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Compared with what is nearby
Within 50 km straight line. Measured the same way, so the ranks compare directly. Ski areas a few kilometres apart share a weather grid cell and can return the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottenleue | 6.4 km | 227 cm | 899 |
| Schwarzsee | 8.4 km | 234 cm | 832 |
| Selital | 8.8 km | 233 cm | 844 |
| La Berra | 10 km | 234 cm | 832 |
| Rüschegg | 11 km | 233 cm | 844 |
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
Month by month, the most snow falls in January. March brings 63% of January’s snowfall. That is a steeper fall than the median for ski areas in Switzerland (76%): the snow here is concentrated early in the season. In amount, March brings 27 cm, less than the median of 60 cm.
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 135 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2024/25 with 69 cm; the biggest was 2017/18 with 185 cm (2.7 times as much).
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
Runs and lifts
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Run map
The shape of the mountain
Which way the slopes face
95% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
By difficulty
Lift types
- Platter1
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
Map
Where it sits relative to nearby resorts. For a piste map, see the official site.
Official piste map ↗More places to look
Guides covering Switzerland
- Everywhere on Earth You Climb for Snow. Japan Is the One Place You Drive Toward the Sea. Across 3,069 ski areas we measure, height and snowfall move together — +0.58 in France, +0.85 in Germany. In Japan the figure is +0.02. The reason is not that elevation stopped working.
- A Black Run in Colorado and a Black Run in Austria Are Not the Same Thing. The Maps Prove It. Across 2,888 ski areas: 39% of American runs are graded advanced or harder, and 9% of Austrian ones. Nobody thinks Austria is four times gentler. The grades are measuring different things.
- How Much Does Snowfall Change From One Winter to the Next? Country by Country Over twelve winters, the typical Japanese ski area's best winter was 2.3 times its worst. In Italy and Chile it was 4.6 times, in New Zealand 4.2. Canada, Finland and Sweden come out steadier than Japan.
Updated: 8 Oct 2026, 00:52