Northern Hemisphere Weekly Snow Roundup #322
Weekly Snow News for the Northern Hemisphere, updated 8 July 2026: Four Alpine glaciers remain open as warm weather softens snow, while Timberline and Copper lead limited summer skiing.
- Four European glacier ski areas remain open, with warm conditions causing rapid snow softening.
- Galdhøpiggen in Norway retains the most winter-like conditions with firmer snow.
- North American summer skiing is limited to a few remaining areas, including Timberline and Copper Mountain.
Europe Snow Report
Alpine glaciers have seen more hot weather over the past week, with the freezing point typically lying between 3,700m and 4,300m, above the tops of most glaciers. So most areas have seen rapid softening through the morning under freezing levels frequently above 3,500 m. There are currently four glacier ski areas open in the Alps, one in each of the major ski nations.
French centre Tignes (0/100cm / 0/40”) retains around 6 km (3.5 miles) of terrain, starting hard‑packed before shifting to spring corn by late morning. Zermatt/Cervinia (0/100cm / 0/40”) on the Swiss/Italian border offers roughly 15 km (9 miles) plus its newly set‑up summer park, though afternoons have climbed close to +20°C even at glacier height.
Hintertux (0/75cm / 0/30”) has seen its base drop by 75% through the past few months and will end its season later this month. For now, though it continues to provide the largest currently open mileage worldwide at about 25 km (16 miles), it also faces continuous thawing. Passo Stelvio (0/100cm / 0/40”) recently picked up around 10 cm (4”) of new snow at the end of last week.
Farther north, Norway’s Galdhøpiggen (0/120cm / 0/48”) remains the wintriest of the group, with overnight freezes, firm upper snow, and temperatures mostly between 0°C and +8°C. Training teams report stable, dry conditions, with only brief softening later in the day.
Europe Snow Forecast
Mostly sunny, very warm upper‑alpine conditions continue to dominate Europe’s remaining summer‑ski areas, with freezing levels up at 3900–4100 m and keeping glacier surfaces soft by late morning. Tignes and Zermatt stay largely dry, with only a slight chance of 1–5 cm (.5-2”) of snow as a weak disturbance brushes the Alps on Friday or Saturday. Hintertux and Passo Stelvio see similar bright spells and mild summit temperatures, with any snowfall light and short‑lived. Farther north, Galdhøpiggen enjoys long sunny periods and only isolated, brief flurries.
North America Snow Report
The options for celebrating America’s 250th birthday on snow last weekend were more limited than they usually are, with only Oregon's Timberline (0/48” / 0/120cm) offering lift-served outdoor skiing and riding.
Copper Mountain’s hike-to summer terrain park was also open in the Colorado Rockies, and if you were happy to celebrate north of the border, the slopes of Sunshine near Banff in Alberta, Canada, were concluding their fortnight of summer opening for snow sports last weekend. Its base has dropped to less than 25cm (10") by closing day. But we were well down from the days, following snowier winters, when up to a dozen areas were open or reopened for the 4th of July. There was also indoor snow sports at Big Snow in New Jersey, of course.
It’s been a mostly dry, sunny week in the west, temperatures staying 5-10 degrees above freezing even up high, overnight in Oregon, with daytime highs touching the low 70s Fahrenheit.
North America Snow Forecast
A warm, mostly settled stretch continues for the USA’s two active summer‑ski spots. Timberline’s Palmer Snowfield stays bright and stable through mid‑week, with overnight freezes in the mid‑20s °F firming the surface before softening into the 40s–50s °F each afternoon.
Copper Mountain’s hike‑to terrain park sees similar mild, dry weather, with upper‑30s to mid‑50s °F and light winds. A weak late‑week disturbance may bring brief cloud and a touch of cooler air, but any snowfall looks minimal and short‑lived, leaving conditions typical for summer.
