Northern Hemisphere Weekly Snow Roundup #325
Weekly Snow News for Northern Hemisphere, updated 30 July 2026: Four European glacier ski areas remain open despite freezing levels above 4,000m (13,100ft), while North America looks ahead to the 2026–27 season.
- Europe: Four glacier ski areas remain open, including Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Passo Stelvio and Galdhøpiggen.
- Alps: Warm weather continues, with only light snowfall on the highest glaciers.
- North America: Outdoor lift-served skiing has ended, with only indoor skiing at Big Snow remaining.
- Looking ahead: Mammoth Mountain plans to open its 2026–27 season on 13 November.
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE REPORT
Four outdoor glacier centres remain open in Europe as we reach August. Neighbouring Swiss centres Zermatt (0/100cm / 0/40”) and Saas-Fee each have glacier slopes open, the former posting 13km (8 miles) of slopes open, and also accessible from Cervinia on the Italian side of the border. Saas-Free reports half of its four glacier drag lifts are operation with Allalin 2 & 3 operating, but Allalin 4 & 5 ski lifts temporarily closed.
The other option open in the Alps is Italy’s Passo Stelvio (0/150cm / 0/60”) summer ski area. It’s been another warm week with the daytime freezing point well above 4,000m and the tops of the glacier slopes. Overnight lows have dropped below freezing though and there have been reports of some fresh light snow showers on glaciers.
Also still open is Norway’s Galdhøpiggen Sommerskisenter (10/100cm / 4/40”) which has seen plenty of sunshine this week, along with some rain, sleet and snow showers. It reports all slopes open, temperatures in the -5 to +5C range.
In North America, with Timberline ski area closing earlier than usual, earlier this month, attentions are turning to winter 26-27 with high hopes, for some areas at least, that the forecast strong El Niño expected to bring big snowfalls. Mammoth Mountain announced their season will begin on November 13th, now about 100 days out. The only lift-served snow skiing on the continent remains indoors, at Big Snow in New Jersey although the hike-to terrain park at Copper Mountain in Colorado was operating into last weekend.
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE FORECAST
The weather in the Alps is expected to stay mild, with freezing levels often 4,200–4,600 m. Saas‑Fee and Zermatt see overnight lows around +1 to +3 °C at 3,800–4,000 m, so precipitation falls mainly as rain, with only brief wet snow on the highest ridges. Passo Stelvio remains similarly warm and variable. Galdhøpiggen is cooler but still marginal, with mixed rain/sleet and limited fresh snow on the upper glacier.
