Global Weekly Snow Roundup #313

• Winter shifts South as Northern Hemisphere ski season fades
• Late snowfall extends skiing while Southern resorts prepare to open
• Glacier skiing continues in Europe as fresh snow hits North America
• Global snow update: Final turns North, early snowfalls South

World Overview

The northern hemisphere’s 25-26 season is well over now with less than 30 ski areas still operating across about 10 countries. The US leads the way with about a dozen centres still open and skiing still possible from coast to coast.  Austria has the most centres still open in Europe, all with high altitude glacial terrain. As things continue to warm up north of the equator they’re cooling fast in the southern hemisphere where the season starts at the end of the month. One area in New Zealand already ran its lifts for a few days during an early snowy spell last month and there’s been more fresh snowfall in Australia and The Andes this week.

Europe

There were around 50 ski areas still open in Europe for the first weekend of May, but about three-quarters of them called it a day after Sunday’s skiing, leaving only about a dozen ski areas still open in seven countries – mostly the Alps and Scandinavia. Lots of countries are now down to just one or two areas open, with several seeing their last centres still open close at the weekend, including Germany and Spain. Austria now leads with four resorts still skiable.

North America

In North America, about 15 ski areas remain open and in the West the weather has been colder, with fresh snowfall on high slopes. That led several resorts to announce they were staying open a week longer than previously announced, including the last centre open in Colorado, where the season has been expected to end last Sunday but now will this one coming – unless extended again. Ironically the state’s mountains have just seen some of their biggest snowfalls of the entire season, with all centres closed midweek, up to nearly three feet (90cm). Although the choice is getting less, there’s a good geographic spread of open areas still including resorts on each side of Canada and on the East Coast, in the Midwest, in the Rockies and on the Pacific coast of the US all still operating.

Japan

Japan’s season pretty much ended on Wednesday this week with the end of the country’s Golden Week period which a dozen or so leading resorts had kept their higher slopes open for. That leaves a small snow area still open for a few more weeks at Shiga Kogen (10/80cm / 4/32”) and the country’s sole summer ski area, Gassan (360/580cm / 144/232”), which continues to post the world’s deepest cover, although that base depth is dropping fast.

Southern Hemisphere Season Start

The start of the southern hemisphere’s ski season is just over three weeks away with New Zealand’s Coronet Peak installing a TechnoAlpin SnowFactory all-weather snowmaker and announced it will open nursery slopes and a snow play area from the 29th. A similar machine already exists at Whakapapa on the North Island. In fact, there’s already outdoor snow to play on in Australia thanks to another of the machines. However, that’s usually used for snow play and sledging, not skiing or riding. 

Of course, the southern hemisphere’s season could be considered to have begun already with New Zealand’s Hanmer Springs opening for two days last month thanks to good early snowfalls. Most southern hemisphere ski areas are now starting base building when they can with the main season start beginning in just four weeks’ time. Fresh snowfall has been reported in the Andes and a dusting on Australian ski slopes over the past week.