Timberline to End Nine-Month Season This Weekend

• Saas-Fee Holds World’s Deepest Snowpack as Alps Drop to Three Resorts
• Kilde Trains at Galdhøpiggen in First Outdoor Session Since Injury
• Copper Mountain Park Aims to Stay Open Into September for Freestylers
• Only Five Ski Centres Remain Open Across the Northern Hemisphere

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE INTRO

We remain at five centres open across the northern hemisphere: four in Europe and one in North America. Three of Europe’s summer glacier centres are in the Alps, and the other is in Scandinavia. In Norway, Galdhøpiggen Glacier remains open with fresh snow and groomed terrain for elite training. In North America, Timberline on Oregon's Mount Hood is the sole lift-served resort still operating, entering its final fortnight after an eight-month season. Its Palmer Snowfield offers limited early-morning skiing on a thinning base. Most centres have seen predominantly warm, dry, sunny weather on both sides of the Atlantic over the past week.

ALPS REPORT

There are just three centres open in the Alps, the lowest number of the year. There’s nowhere currently open in Austria or France, but Zermatt (0/120cm / 0/48”) and Saas-Fee (0/200cm / 0/80”) in Switzerland, along with Italy’s Passo Stelvio (0/110cm / 0/44”), continue to offer glacier skiing. Zermatt's slopes can also be accessed from Cervinia in Italy. Both Swiss resorts report about 14km (9 miles) of slopes available, with Saas-Fee still boasting the deepest snowpack globally—although some southern hemisphere totals are getting closer now. As reported last week, Austria’s Hintertux Glacier, usually open year-round, has unexpectedly closed until September. Conditions are generally warm and dry, with daytime highs reaching 8°C in the Alps. There’s been minimal new snowfall, although some high-altitude slopes have seen occasional light flurries.

ALPS FORECAST

Alpine glacier resorts will see more hot, sunny weather, with freezing levels near 3,000m overnight and climbing to 4,000m in the afternoons. The best conditions will follow the summer skiing norm of 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., with soft snow and slushy conditions by midday. There is, however, the usual chance of storms bubbling up later this week, with rain, sleet, or snowfall possible on high slopes.

SCANDINAVIA REPORT

Scandinavia’s highest slopes, at Norway’s Galdhøpiggen (10/60cm / 4/24") summer ski centre, remain the only area open in the region. This week has seen mixed conditions—some sunny days, but also rain, sleet, and a few centimetres of snow at times—with temperatures ranging between -5°C and +10°C. There are a couple of miles of slopes open in the early mornings. This past week has seen ski racing royalty Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, along with other members of the Norwegian team, training at Galdhøpiggen in what’s believed to be his first outdoor race training since his horrific crash in Wengen early last year.

SCANDINAVIA FORECAST

Sunshine and showers are expected for the latter half of this week, with temperatures in the +2°C to +10°C range. Unfortunately, showers are more likely to fall as rain rather than sleet or snow this time due to the predominantly above-freezing temperatures.

USA REPORT

We’re into the final stretch of North America's 2024–25 lift-served ski season, with the last area still open—Timberline (0/20” / 0/50cm) on Mt Hood in Oregon—expected to end its nine-month-plus season this coming weekend (on Sunday 17th rather than Wednesday 20th, which they had earlier announced as their target end date). The terrain parks there closed last weekend. The centre's slopes, high on the Palmer Snowfield, are down to a very thin base, with just about a mile of skiable terrain left. The centre has seen another week of mostly hot weather with lots of sunshine, and overnight lows have remained above freezing even at higher elevations. Afternoons have reached highs of up to 70°F in the western U.S. The hike-to terrain park at Copper Mountain plans to stay open longer—hopefully until early September—for freestylers. Open to campers at its Woodward facility during the week, it offers public access for a $25 day lift ticket on Fridays to Sundays. Elsewhere, a number of U.S. areas, including Utah's Solitude and California’s Mammoth Mountain, have announced in the past week that it’s now less than 100 days until their 2025–26 season start in November. There’s also been a definite uptick in “winter-is-coming” promotions from ski areas across North America.

USA FORECAST

A continuing clear-skies forecast, with overnight lows on high slopes only dropping to the high 30s or low 40s, and daytime highs into the 60s or 70s. Very little cloud cover is expected, with mostly full sunshine continuing.