Pack your ski clothing in layers, bring your helmet, goggles, ski pass and European Health Insurance Card, and sort your phone before you leave Belgium. Check the snow depth on bergfex or the official resort website, download offline maps and a ski app such as Slopes, and keep your phone in an inside pocket, because Apple phones are designed to work between 0°C and 35°C and the battery drains fast in the cold. Switzerland and Andorra are not in the EU, so the EU roaming rules do not apply there and mobile data can cost far more than at home. The European Health Insurance Card also does not work in Andorra. Below you find the full ski trip packing list, where to check snow depth, the best apps for the slopes and how much mobile data a ski week really uses.
Ski trip packing list at a glance
Pack by category, so you notice quickly what is missing. This is the essential list for a week of skiing or snowboarding:
Category | What to pack |
|---|---|
Ski clothing | Thermal base layer, fleece or mid layer, ski jacket, ski trousers, ski socks, gloves or mittens, neck warmer |
Safety | Helmet, goggles, sunglasses, sun cream with a high factor, lip balm |
Documents | Identity card, ski pass or booking confirmation, European Health Insurance Card, travel insurance with mountain rescue |
Phone and tech | Charger, power bank, offline maps, ski app, earbuds or a helmet audio kit |
Après ski | Warm boots with grip, comfortable clothes, swimwear for the hotel pool or spa |
Car | Vignette for Austria or Switzerland, winter tyres, snow chains, ice scraper |
Documents, insurance and the drive
Bring your European Health Insurance Card, which covers necessary medical care in the EU and Switzerland but not in Andorra. The card does not cover mountain rescue or a helicopter evacuation, so check that your travel insurance includes rescue on and off the piste.
If you drive, buy your vignette before the border. Austria and Switzerland require one on motorways, and France charges tolls per section, as explained in our guide to toll vignettes in Austria, Switzerland and France. Winter equipment rules also differ per country:
Country | Winter tyres |
|---|---|
Austria | Required in winter conditions from 1 November to 15 April |
France | Winter tyres with the 3PMSF symbol, or chains or snow socks in the car, in 34 mountain departments from 1 November to 31 March |
Switzerland | No general obligation, but you risk a fine if you block traffic and share the blame in an accident with summer tyres |
Where to check snow depth
Check the snow depth a few days before you leave and again on the morning you ski. These sources are the most useful:
Source | What it shows |
|---|---|
Official resort website or app | Open lifts and pistes, snow depth, webcams |
bergfex | Snow depth and snow reports for resorts in the Alps, webcams |
Snow Forecast | Snow forecasts and fresh snow per resort |
European avalanche warning services (avalanches.org) | Avalanche danger level per region |
Look at both the depth on the slopes and the depth in the valley, because a resort with good snow at the top can still have brown pistes lower down.
The best apps for the slopes
Install your apps at home on wifi, so you do not download them with roaming data in the mountains:
App | What you use it for | Works offline |
|---|---|---|
Official resort app | Lift status, piste map, ski pass | Partly |
Slopes | Tracks your runs, speed and distance | Yes, it syncs later |
bergfex | Snow depth, weather and piste maps | Partly |
White Risk | Avalanche bulletin for Switzerland | Partly, maps can be downloaded |
Google Maps | Offline maps of the village and the route | Yes, after download |
Keep your phone battery alive in the cold
Keep your phone in an inside pocket close to your body, never in the outside pocket of your jacket. A cold battery loses power quickly, and your phone can switch off below 0°C even when it showed 40 percent a minute earlier. It usually works again once it warms up.
Take a power bank, turn on low power mode and switch to airplane mode on chairlifts where there is no signal, because a phone that keeps searching for a network drains its battery faster. Let a cold phone warm up before you charge it.
Signal in the mountains
Expect weak signal in deep valleys, behind ridges and in some lift stations, so download offline maps and your ski pass before you go up. The emergency number 112 works across the EU and in Switzerland, even without your own network.
Close to a border, your phone can connect to a foreign network automatically. Some ski areas cross the border, such as the Portes du Soleil between France and Switzerland, so you can roam on a Swiss network while you ski in France. Choose your network manually or turn off data roaming in those areas if your plan does not include Switzerland.
Roaming in Switzerland and Andorra
Switzerland and Andorra are outside the EU, so the roam like at home rules do not apply:
Country | EU roaming rules | European Health Insurance Card |
|---|---|---|
Austria, France, Italy | Yes, no extra cost | Valid |
Switzerland | No, some Belgian plans include it, others charge extra | Valid |
Andorra | No, usually charged per MB or with a separate pass | Not valid |
Without a roaming option, a Belgian plan charges data outside the EU per megabyte, and a daily roaming pass easily costs around €7.50 per day. For a ski trip to Switzerland or Andorra, look for a plan that also covers countries outside the EU, which is exactly the idea behind Firsty World.
How much data a ski trip uses
A ski day uses about 150 to 250 MB of mobile data, as long as you download maps and apps at home. Typical figures, based on Firsty's guides on Google Maps, WhatsApp, Spotify and ChatGPT:
What you do | Data used |
|---|---|
Google Maps navigation to the resort | 3 to 5 MB per hour |
Tracking your runs with Slopes | Under 1 MB per day |
Ski pass or train ticket in an app | Under 1 MB to download, 0 MB once saved |
Taxi or ride app for the transfer | A few MB per ride |
Checking a snow report and piste map | 1 to 3 MB per check |
Watching a resort webcam | 5 to 10 MB per minute |
WhatsApp voice call | 0.3 to 0.5 MB per minute |
ChatGPT text chat for restaurants and tips | 1 to 5 MB per hour |
Spotify on the lift, normal to high quality | 43 to 72 MB per hour |
A ski day with music and a few webcam checks | 150 to 250 MB |
A full ski week including the drive | 1.5 to 2 GB |
Pack your data like you pack your gloves
Sort your connection at home, just like your ski pass and your vignette. With Firsty, there is no SIM card to swap, no roaming setting to remember, no zone chart to check and no surprise bill. Have a look at the Firsty plans for Belgium and the EU, including a plan with more data for long drives to the Alps. Every connection Firsty sells also connects someone in Belgium who needs it, not as charity, but as how the business works. Things are moving, so keep an eye on what Firsty is building and discover more at Firsty.app.
FAQ
What should I pack for a ski trip?
Pack a thermal base layer, a mid layer, a ski jacket and ski trousers, ski socks, gloves, a helmet and goggles. Add sun cream, your identity card, your ski pass, the European Health Insurance Card and travel insurance that covers mountain rescue. Bring a power bank and download offline maps before you leave.
Where can I check the snow depth before a ski trip?
Check the official website or app of the resort for open pistes, lifts and snow depth. bergfex and Snow Forecast show snow reports and forecasts for most resorts in the Alps, and avalanches.org shows the avalanche danger per region.
Why does my phone switch off in the cold?
Lithium ion batteries lose power quickly at low temperatures, and Apple designs its phones for use between 0°C and 35°C. Keep your phone in an inside pocket, carry a power bank and let the phone warm up before charging it.
Does EU roaming work in Switzerland?
No. Switzerland is not in the EU, so the roam like at home rules do not apply. Some Belgian plans include Switzerland, others charge per megabyte or require a roaming pass, so check your plan before you leave.
Is roaming free in Andorra?
No. Andorra is not part of the EU roaming rules, so data is usually charged per megabyte or with a separate pass. The European Health Insurance Card is also not valid in Andorra, so take travel insurance.
How much mobile data do I need for a ski week?
A typical ski day with music, a few webcam checks and messages uses about 150 to 250 MB. A full week including the drive uses around 1.5 to 2 GB, as long as you download maps and apps on wifi at home.
Which ski apps work offline?
Slopes tracks your runs offline and syncs later, and Google Maps works offline once you download the area. Resort apps and bergfex show saved piste maps offline, but live snow reports and webcams need a connection.
