Global Weekly Snow Roundup #320

• Banff's Sunshine ski area opens for summer skiing for the second time this century.
• Riksgransen ends its 2026 season after the midsummer solstice ski session.
• Tignes is the third French ski area to open for summer skiing.

World Overview

It’s been a little like Groundhog Day for those waiting for the southern hemisphere's 2026 season to get properly underway.  Ski areas in the Andes that had been expected to open last weekend delayed doing so at the last moment, whilst Australian resorts battled continuing thawing conditions, and New Zealand's centres postponed their season start for a second time. Only Lesotho's Afriski in southern Africa appears to be operating without any issues.  Hopefully, most areas will get off to a belated season start, or restart, this coming weekend after most ski regions saw promising wintery signs, or better still, serious snowfall, over the past few days.

In the Northern Hemisphere, we're still just about in double figures for the number of ski areas still open. It's been very warm in much of Europe and North America, but whilst Sweden's Riksgransen ended its 2026 run at the weekend, two more centres opened for summer skiing – Sunshine near Banff in the Canadian Rockies and Tignes in the French Alps. Sunshine is the only ski area open in Canada, opening for summer skiing for only the third time in its history. Tignes is the third French centre to open for summer skiing; the country now has half of all areas open in the Alps.