Global Weekly Snow Roundup #339

• Canada’s Season Starts Early.
• Chile’s Valle Nevado extends season into December and southern hemisphere’s summertime.
• More Japanese areas open with all-weather snowmaking machine.
• More Colorado ski areas open as temperatures drop.
• California’s season starting Thursday.

There are signs in the northern hemisphere at last that the Super El Niño, which is expected to peak over the next few months, has started impacting the northern hemisphere's weather.

In North America, closest to the event itself, there has been the first meaningful precipitation, a predicted consequence of the phenomenon, in southerly mountain states, bringing some decent early November dumps to high terrain but also flooding to some valleys, ironically closing one of the first three US ski areas to open for the season a few days after opening.

Across the Atlantic and Pacific, there is talk of the El Niño impacting the Gulf Stream, making it weaker, less stable, and pushing it south with a consequence that the polar vortex is moving south bringing cold air earlier in the autumn/fall and further south, bringing below average temperatures to Japan and Europe, among others, if not a lot of precipitation.

In terms of where we are with resort openings, several more US areas opened at the weekend and at least four more will join them this Friday. It’s likely in fact that by next week the USA will overtake Austria and Switzerland to have the most resorts open anywhere.  Canada’s season also started early with Lake Louise first to open on Sunday and the first ski area in California has announced it will open the West Coast’s season this Thursday.

Europe currently leads on open areas though, the total now at about two dozen. They’re mostly Alpine glaciers but about a quarter have opened thanks to snow-farming and among the next to do so thanks to that technique is Kitzbühel, this coming weekend.

Remarkably, the southern hemisphere’s 2026 season is set to extend into December and the start of meteorological summertime, with Chile’s Valle Nevado announcing a further extension to its ski season, following more than 8 metres (24 feet) of snowfall this winter. It had already extended its season to November 8^th, so this had been due to be the final weekend, but now it’s set to go until December 1^st, although it won’t open every day this month.

“When we announced that we would extend the season through November 8, we were already making history. Today, we are taking another step forward and demonstrating the full potential of our mountain,” said Dominique Rudloff, General Manager of Valle Nevado, adding, “Reaching 154 operating days is possible not only because we received more than 24 feet of snowfall this winter, but also thanks to the hard work, commitment and capabilities of our teams. We have a clear purpose: Give people the freedom to ski. This means making it possible for more and more people to come up to the mountain and enjoy the snow. That is why we work to keep operations running and extend the skiing experience for as long as possible.”

Following regular operations through November 8, Valle Nevado will reopen for skiing on select dates through December 1. Lifts will operate from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., allowing skiers and riders to take advantage of the best snow conditions during the cooler morning hours. Extended-season operating dates include Fridays to Sundays, November 13-15, 20-22 and November 27 to Tuesday, December 1. Terrain and lift operations will be determined by conditions, the centre say.