Global Weekly Snow Roundup #333

*  Second Italian glacier opens for autumn/fall skiing.

• Australia’s 2026 season ends on Friday.

* One Austrian Glacier Opening, Another delays.

* Finland’s 26-27 season starting next week thanks to snow farming.

It’s now autumn/fall in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern by both the astronomical and meteorological measures of the seasons, so it should be no surprise that preparations for the start of the 26-27 season are ramping up in the northern hemisphere, whilst the 2026 season is winding down in the southern.

Of course, it’s much more nuanced than that though, with developments occurring at different rates in different countries.

As spring advances, the Southern Hemisphere ski season is steadily winding down. In Australia, operations are entering their final hours for the last area open, Perisher, after a difficult winter marked by poor snowfall and repeated early closures. Remaining terrain has shrunk to minimal levels thanks to very warm afternoons.

Across New Zealand, conditions have swung between classic spring sunshine and disruptive mild spells, though recent cold fronts have refreshed cover in places. Several ski fields have now closed for the year, and most others have reduced their open terrain from full coverage to around 70–80%.

In Argentina, the season is tapering off too, though many centres still offer substantial terrain thanks to deep snowpacks and expanded snowmaking. Chile remains the most robust, with widespread terrain still open and strong upper‑mountain depths, but resorts have already started closing there, and more will follow this coming weekend.

North of the equator, temperatures are mostly cooling but perhaps not as fast as resorts would hope, especially in the Alps. Here, just one of the four Austrian areas that had planned to open in September looks set to do so, Pitztal, with one of the other three so far confirming they won't be doing so. Two Italian glaciers are open now, though with Val Senales joining Passo Stelvio, at weekends at least. The first snowfall of autumn was also reported on eastern European peaks at resorts in Bulgaria and Serbia, among others. Up in Scandinavia though, the massive snow farming operations at Ruka and Levi ski areas in Finland look set to pay off, with both areas due to open for their 26-27 seasons at the end of next week. Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier has also re-opened for team training.

There's nowhere open across the Atlantic in North America, but there have been more snowfalls reported on high terrain, so anticipation continues to build for the first resorts opening for 26-27 there, most likely in just 4-5 weeks and just as the super El Niño is expected to near its peak.