Europe Weekly Snow Roundup #317

• Stelvio Glacier opens summer season in Italy
• Fresh snow falls across high Alpine glaciers
• Seven European ski areas remain open
• Val d'Isère launches summer skiing this weekend

Alps Snow Report

Italy's Stelvio Glacier (50/200cm / 20/80"), located near the 2026 Olympic venue Bormio, opened for its 2026 season last Saturday, 30 May, with five months of operations ahead to 1 November. One of Europe's best-known summer ski areas, it has roots in 1930s mountaineering courses at Rifugio Livrio. The glacier provides around 20km of piste with a 700m vertical drop, served by six lifts.

High-altitude snow, cross-country loops and a quiet summer atmosphere attract both beginners and elite training teams. With Austria’s Molltal glacier ending its season last Sunday, it keeps the total number of areas in Europe at seven, four in the Alps and three in Scandinavia.

Summit temperatures in the Alps have generally been in the –6 to +2°C range with afternoon highs near 0 to +4°C. Conditions have been mostly dry with variable cloud. There has, though, been some fresh snowfall on high terrain in recent days, the closed-for-snow-sports Zugspitze and other glaciers reporting 5-10cm accumulations.

Freezing levels hover around 3,000–3,400m, keeping surfaces firm early, softening later. Of the open resorts, Hintertux (0/305cm / 0/122”) is currently reporting the most terrain open with about 25km (16 miles) of slopes. The cross-border Cervinia-Zermatt (0/100cm / 0/40”) has about 16km (10 miles) open.

At Les 2 Alpes the centre has reduced its terrain for recreational skiers, with the focus on ski team training through June and into July, but it does say it has some terrain available for leisure skiers and riders. A second French option, Val d’Isere, opens its summer skiing slopes this coming weekend for a three-week spell. There are around eight trails available there, half of them reserved for race training.

Alps Snow Forecast
A mild, changeable early-June pattern continues across Alpine glaciers from Thursday, with conditions varying by elevation. Hintertux sees cloudy spells and occasional light rain/snow, with summit temperatures around –3 to +3°C. Passo Stelvio stays cool and mostly cloudy, with freeze-thaw cycles and light showers. Val d’Isère, Les 2 Alpes and Zermatt all face periodic rain/snow showers, brighter breaks, and high freezing levels fluctuating near 3,000m.

Scandinavia Snow Report

A cool late-spring pattern holds across Scandinavia’s three still-open ski areas. Stryn (150/250cm / 60/100”) has seen temperatures in the –6 to –1°C range on the mountain, and 1–2°C at the base. Galdhøpiggen (60/150cm / 24/60”) has been similarly cold with –6 to +2°C up high and –5 to +3°C lower down.

Riksgränsen (10/25cm / 4/10”), open Thursdays to Sundays, has been slightly milder, with 0–2°C on the mountain and 2–8°C at base. Conditions remain mostly dry with variable cloud and occasional rain, sleet and snow showers.

Scandinavia Forecast
A mixed pattern is set for the week ahead with Stryn turning milder, cloudy and occasionally showery. Galdhøpiggen stays colder and unsettled, with rain-snow showers and brisk winds. Riksgränsen shifts milder and mostly dry, with sunny spells and low precipitation risk. Conditions vary sharply by elevation but remain generally stable into the weekend.