Global Weekly Snow Roundup #329
Weekly Snow News for World, updated 27 August 2026: Chile and Argentina impress with deep cover, Las Leñas boasting 3m (10ft) of snow.
- Light snow and freezing nights returned to the Alps, but Northern Hemisphere outdoor skiing remains largely closed.
- Rain and mild weather forced early closures in Australia, restricting skiing to higher terrain.
- New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile boast strong conditions, with Chile recording the world's deepest snow.
- Africa's ski season is briefly extended through August 31, 2026.
With autumn fast approaching in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern (both starting next week if you take the meteorological measure of the seasons), it continues to be quite a divided picture for conditions between hemispheres and, in the southern one at least, between ski nations. In the northern hemisphere, light snowfall returned to the higher Alps this week, mainly above 3,500 m, with around 10 cm falling on glaciers in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland.
Similar light top‑ups have continued in recent days. It’s still not enough for Passo Stelvio, Saas‑Fee or Zermatt to reopen, but the return of sub‑freezing nights has been widely welcomed after months of freezing levels above 4,000 m. With overnight lows now dipping below zero above 3,000 m, glaciers are finally seeing a regular freeze–thaw cycle again. Norway’s Galdhøpiggen remains shut too until its usual September reopening. North America currently has no outdoor lift‑served skiing, aside from dry‑slope parks such as Ski Ward and Liberty Mountain Snowflex. For now, northern hemisphere lift‑served skiing is limited to indoor centres and hundreds of dry slopes worldwide.
South of the equator, Australia’s ski areas have faced another difficult week as mild weather and rain eroded already thin snowpack, forcing early closures at several resorts. The remaining centres open, which include most of the country's larger resorts, are concentrating operations on higher terrain, where snow is holding up better and it was cold enough for fresh snowmaking some nights. Perisher and Thredbo in particular retain respectable upper‑mountain depths.
By contrast, New Zealand continues to outperform the region, posting frequent snowfall, consistently cold temperatures and near‑complete openings at most ski areas. Bases remain strong heading into September, led by Mt Hutt’s deep cover and Cardrona’s fully open, extensive groomed terrain. Argentina is reporting its best coverage of the season, with 60–90% of terrain open and a mix of sunshine in the south and renewed snowfall in the north. Catedral leads in groomed terrain, while Las Leñas dominates overall acreage and reports 3m (10 feet) of snow lying.
Chile tops everywhere else, though, for open terrain (the 3 Valleys linked to Valle Nevado, El Colorado and La Parva topping the world total for skiable runs with over 115km between them). Chile is also posting the world's deepest cover, and a growing number of resorts there have announced season extensions well into October. In Africa, the 2026 season was expected to end after the season-closing Winterfest festival, but the centre has since said it is staying open to next Monday, 31st August.
