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Snow-Forecast’s Rolling News on Ski Resorts Re-Opening (2020-21)

27th November 2020 1 Posted by Snowhunter

Last Updated: 29 November 2020 at 8.30 GMT (Updates so far since 5 May: 353)

The web’s most comprehensive guide of ski resorts opening around the world during the pandemic.

Around 130 Ski Areas Are Currently Open Worldwide In 10 Countries on 3 Continents: Asia: China, Japan, Kazakhstan. Europe: Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland. North America: Canada, USA

Browse by country:

North America:

Europe:

Asia:

Latest resort updates

(Headlines from earlier in the pandemic are archived below)

*** Scroll down to the country section below for more details and latest updates ***

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Please note ALL re-opened ski areas are exercising strict measures to reduce the risk of spread of the virus, see:  ‘Operating In A Pandemic – What Has Changed?’ below.

List of resorts reopening in 2020
Arosa the day after the lockdown.

Ski resort updates

Northern Hemisphere

Andorra

*** Updated 26 November ***

Andorra Social Distancing Requirements: 1.5 Metres (60 Inches).

Andorra Ski Areas open: 0

Andorra says it will open its ski areas for local skiers this winter although it expects few international tourists will be able to visit.

The planned opening date has been set back to 19th December.

Austria

Austria resorts reopening 2020
Hintertux 29 April 2020

*** Updated November 25th ***

Austria Social Distancing Requirement: 1 Metre (40 inches)

Austria Lifts Policy: No limit on the number of people using lifts (eg 6 strangers can share a 6 seat gondola cabin), but everyone must wear masks.

Austria Centres Currently Open: 0

The current situation in Austria:

Austrian ski areas were planning for fairly normal operation for winter 2020-21 with centres saying they’ll open as normal and no limits beyond normal limits on the numbers who can use individual lifts or access the mountain.

However on 31st October the Austrian president announced a November lockdown which means the nine areas that had opened already have to close until the start of December. Most Austrian ski areas don’t usually open until December anyway but a few like Obergurgl, Obertauern and Ischgl which open in November will have to delay doing so.

Ischgl has said it doesn’t plan to open now until mid-December. St Anton are also saying mid-December.

Normally about half- the ski areas open in Europe until the winter starts are in Austria with glaciers opening in September and October and that has been the case this year too.

In mid-November the Austrian Chancellor extended the country’s lockdown to December 6th and there are now concerns that a pan-EU move to delay all ski areas opening until January may come in to force.

Earlier in the autumn warm weather slowed the rate of autumn glacier openings but the Pitztal glacier opened on 19 September, joining year-round Hintertux, with the Kaunertal and Solden glaciers opening a week later and more joining them from early October with heavy snowfall up high helping a lot and giving great conditions for early autumn.

Hochkar opened briefly in October due to the snow (first without a glacier) then Kitzbuhel used snow farming to open from 24th October.

What happened in Austria during the first 6 months of the pandemic?

Austria was one of the first major ski nations to ease their lockdown.  They announced in April that ski touring could resume on May 1st although then asked people not to go ski touring due to their potential medical need at a time of pandemic, and high avalanche risk.

They then said ski lifts could re-open from May 29th and initially three of the country’s glacier ski areas: Hintertux, Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn re-opened on that date.

The Molltal glacier also began its (usually) 11 month ski season on 6th June. This is a few weeks earlier than the Molltal’s usual ski season opening date which is in the later half of June most years – one of the world’s longest. We say “usually” because on August 16th this year the Molltal glacier ended its summer ski season.

The Kitzsteinhorn announced on 27th May that their area would include a small terrain park.

The Dachstein glacier has also been open again since May 29th – but will not offer snowsports until the autumn.

The Kaunertal had a short re-opening though, running for only 9 days to the scheduled end of its 19-20 season, June 7th.

The Stubai glacier says it won’t re-open for snowsports now until the Autumn, when the Pitztal and Solden glaciers areas usually open too.

Bulgaria

Borovets

*** Updated 25 November 2020 ***

Bulgaria social distancing requirement: 1.5 metres.

Bulgarian ski areas currently open: 0

In early November The Bulgarian government announced plans to promote skiing as “good for your health” this winter.

Ski areas there reported weather was cold enough for snowmaking in late November and that they hoped to open in December. However the country’s health ministry was also reported to be looking in to resorts opening.

The tourism minister said on 26th November the country rejected calls from France, Germany and Italy to close all EU ski slopes until January 10th and expected ski areas to open shortly before Christmas.

Canada

Canada resorts reopening 2020

***Updated 25 November 2020 ***

Canada Social Distancing Requirement: 2 Metres (80 inches)

Canada Ski Centres Currently Open: 15

Western Canada’s ski centres saw cold temperatures and heavy snowfall in October leading Mt Norquay at Banff to announce its earliest ever opening and be the first in the country and second in North America to open for 20-21 on Saturday 24 October. Lake Louise was the second Canadian area to open, a week earlier than planned and also its earliest ever opening date, on 29th October.

Nakiska had planned to open on the 30th October but switched to 6th November and eventually opened on the 7th. Sunshine opened on the 9th and Panorama has opened to ski racers for trainers but not yet the general public.

Next to open around the weekend of 13-15 November were Marmot Basin in Alberta, the fifth in the province, and Cypress Mountain in BC, the first in the country’s far west. More areas including Big White and Sun Peaks opened soon after.

In the East of the country Mont Sainte Sauveur was the first area to open, on 30th October, following cold weather for snowmaking there. It began night skiing on the 6th November. A warm spell followed which delayed other eastern areas opening, but it’s now cooler again.

Canadian ski centres are operating with pandemic restrictions in place, stricter than in Europe including fewer people on the mountain, on lifts, social-distancing and the rest.

What Happened in Canada During the First 6 Months of the Pandemic

Most of Canada’s ski areas would normally have closed by the time the country eased lockdown in June. Just one, Whistler Blackcomb, normally offers glacier skiing through to early July in a normal year. This year however, it has decided not to open that facility, although it could have, and did re-open for hiking, biking and so on.

Sunshine, which usually stays open to late-May, confirmed that they would not be re-opening until next season.

Mont St Sauveur in Quebec has opened a summer terrain park in recent years using snow left from the previous winter and they confirmed on May 20th that they have snow left this year and will open the snowpark if Quebec’s lockdown is eased in time. However so far that did not seem to happen.

China

China resorts reopening 2020

*** Updated 25th November ***

China Social Distancing Requirement: 1 Metre (40 inches)

China Ski Centres Currently Open: 20

With the Winter Olympics a little over a year ago, China is getting ever more excited about winter sports and keen to out the virus behind them.

Several of the country’s leading ski areas including Wanlong and Thaiwoo opened first runs using snowmaking in late October. Another area was reported to have opened in late September.

More ski areas are reported to have opened across the country’s ski regions in recent weeks, all with pandemic-spread prevention measures in place.

What Happened in China During Winter – Spring 2020

China was where it all began of course and the country’s ski areas were closed and the country largely in lockdown from mid-January to mid-March.  It also became the first country where ski areas re-opened in the latter half of March, but with numerous pandemic-re-emergence-prevention measures in place.  

It is believed all the country’s ski areas are now closed due to the normal end-of-season in spring, although the 30+ indoor snow centres are operating again.

Czech Republic

*** Updated 25th November ***

Czech Republic Social Distancing Requirements: 2m (6.6 Feet).
Face masks are no longer required outdoors as they were initially, but are still mandatory on indoor transport and in indoor public spaces where 2-metre distancing cannot be maintained. 

Czech Republic Ski Centres Currently Open: 0

As of late November there are as yet no areas open in the Czech Republic for winter 20-21. Besides virus concerns it has been a fairly warm month with limited snowfall to date.

How Did Czech Ski Areas Behave During The First 6 Months of the Pandemic?

The Czech Republic was one of the first country’s in the world to ease its pandemic to an extent that some ski areas could re-open only about a month or so after lockdown began, by the latter part of April. Most Czech areas had already ended their ski seasons by then anyway but one, Praded, re-opened slopes for a short time.

Finland

*** Updated on November 25th, 2020 ***

Finland Social Distancing Requirement: 2 Metre (80 inches).

Finland Centres Currently Open: 2

The 2020-21 ski season started in Finland at 9.30am on Friday 2nd October, 2020 when two of its largest resorts – Levi and Ruka – re-opened after six months closure.

They used snow-farming, saving snow from the previous winter through the summer then spreading it back out on the slopes to create a few runs as it gets colder again in the Autumn to open and were among the first ski areas without glaciers to open in Europe for the new season in this way.

A warm spell in November followed but it turned colder later in the month and Levi hosted World Cup racing as usual on 21st/22nd November.

Finland has also so far managed to suppress the second wave of the pandemic there more successfully than many other countries in Europe.

What Happened in Finland In The Spring 2020 Pandemic?

Finland was one of the last countries in Europe to decide to close ski areas as the pandemic took hold in March, closing the last in early April.

Several centres here use snow farming, preserving last season’s snow under cover through the warmer months then spreading it back out on the slopes in early autumn when things cool down, to open early. Levi and Ruka aim to open in early October.

Levi, due to open on October 2nd, is pictured above in mid-August.

France

*** Updated on November 27th, 2020 ***

France Social Distancing Requirement: 1 Metre (40 inches). Wearing a mask is compulsory in lift queues and throughout the ski lift journey for people over 11 years old. 

France Ski Centres Currently Open: 0

The French 20-21 ski season started on 17th October with Les 2 Alpes and Tignes opening for glacier skiing.

However on 28th October President Macron announced a new lockdown from 30th October to 1st December to try to quall rising virus numbers so ski areas have unfortunately closed again (Les 2 Alpes had been due to close again through November anyway after its 2-week October opening).

On 24th November as the lockdown was nearing its end President Macron announced that the country’s ski areas would probably not be allowed to re-open for Christmas and New Year but he hoped would be able to open in January and said a final decision on that would be made by 4th December.

On 26th November the French Prime minister appeared to confirm that ski areas should be closed until January. The country is working with Germany and Italy to try to create an all-EU ban on ski areas opening until January 10th.

Most French resorts have now said they plan to open for visitors at Christmas even if they could not run the ski lifts.

Concerns have been raised about people hiking up to ski runs at closed resorts when they may not have been made avalanche safe.

French Glacier Ski Centre operations in Summer 2020

All three remaining French glacier ski areas re-opened in June for their summer ski seasons. Resorts are expected to begin autumn operations on the glacier at Tignes from 10th October.

Lifts are also running again at some resorts resorts like Chamonix, with temperature checks for users, to access high altitude ski touring terrain,

Staff in the three French glacier ski areas that open for summer skiing,
Les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Val d’Isere, were able to go back in to work since May 11th to prepare for the easing of the French lockdown.

Initially resorts focused on French visitors but borders re-opened across the EU through June and then with some other countries.

Val d’Isere was open to July 11, Tignes to August 2nd and Les 2 Alpes to 30 August.

On June 2nd Val d’Isere released detailed of its summer operating plans with a range of pandemic-spread-prevention measures in place including a requirement to buy lift passes at least 48 hours in advance, online.

Originally the centre had thought it too would initially only open for race team training initially then for the general public later in the month but it is now open for both with a maximum of 500 tickets a day in the first week to recreational skiers and boarders then 600 from week two.

A month in to operations a spokesperson for the centre said, ” It has all gone really well, helped by fabulous snow conditions. Social distancing for the lift, wearing masks on the lift, and booking online with numbers limited  is working very smoothly.”

France had one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe with the nation coming together to stop the spread of the virus.  Many initiatives were reported including ski instructors turning their talents to stitching old ski jackets into face masks; Michelin starred ski area chefs working to supply food to frontline medical staff, and French ski gear manufacturers switching to PPE manufacture.

Italy

***Updated November 27th ***

Italy Social Distancing Requirement: 1 Metre (40 inches).

Italy Ski Centres Currently Open: 3

Italy’s ski season was gathering pace in October with four areas open and great conditions thanks to early autumn snowfall by the end of the month.

However a new partial-national lockdown led to some of the resorts being closed again from Monday 26th October with the hope that measures taken across the country would bring virus infection rates down and the country would be able to open for the winter ski season after 24th November.

Initially two of the four areas stayed open (Sulden and Val Senales) to all however, apparently as Italian regions take a different approach to the national advice. Val Senales confirmed on 28 October it plans to stay open, but then on 4th November announced from 8th November it would only be open to race teams Sulden said the same.

A third, Cervinia, closed for three days but then re-opened to race teams only from 29th October. The fourth, Passo Stelvio, had been due to close anyway from November 1st, due to its June-October season ending anyway.

Towards the end of November Italy’s Prime minister advised Italians not to go on their traditional Christmas ski holiday and joined with France and Germany in seeking a ban on ski areas opening across the eu until January 10th, 2021.

Italian Ski resort Operating In First 6 Months of Pandemic

Italy, one of the worst affected countries in Europe from the virus, had a strict lockdown for nearly two months, which was then progressively eased since May 4th allowing for an ever increasing amount of outdoor activity.

The Stelvio Summer Ski Centre in Italy, the country’s only remaining summer-only destination, reopened for Italian national team athletes at the start of June and then re-opened to all skiers and boarders from 13th June – it’s due to stay open to the end of October, all being well.

A second glacier area, Val Senales, opened on September 18th for its 2020-21 season.

The first 6 Months of the Pandemic in Italy

Besides the Italian squads, racing superstars Petra Vlhova from Slovakia and upcoming star Alice Robinson from New Zealand, were training at Stelvio back in June. There were however reports of several virus cases in the Italian team based there in late June.

Access to a second summer ski area, accessed from Cervinia but located on the Swiss side of the border above Zermatt, re-opened with summer skiing from 20th June, earlier than previously hoped.

In an interesting twist from the pandemic prevention measures, there are different social distancing requirements on each side of the border – 1 metre (40 inches) in Italy but 1,5 meets (5 feet) in Switzerland. However the resort reports all is fine with skiers sticking to the rules on each side.

A third Italian area that formerly operated through summer, Val Senales said on 5th May they were concerned there was “fake news” that they might re-open this spring/summer and said they definitely will not be and are prepping the area for their usual September season start.

Cortina d’Ampezzo said on May 7th they’ll offer free weekend ski breaks to health workers involved in the country’s battle with the pandemic.

Japan

Japan resorts reopening 2020

***Updated November 27th ***

Japan Social Distancing Requirements: 2 Metres (6.6 feet).

Japan Ski Centres Currently Operating: 2

What’s The Current Situation in Japan?

The first ski resort opened a run for 20-21, using entirely machine-made snow, in late October 2020.

The ski season then kind of got underway in Japan with at least two areas opening runs made from entirely all-weather snow machine snow – so it was a case of a ribbon of snow over grass and leaves down the slope. SnowJapan.com reported that Snow Park Yeti – known as Fujiyama Snow Resort Yeti last year and other names before that – was the first in the country to open on Friday 30th October

In response to Covid-19, Hokkaido Prefecture launched the ‘New Hokkaido Style’ campaign, encouraging new lifestyle habits and business customs as part of a ‘new normal’.

In resorts, protective screens at desks, sanitation of high-touch areas, provision of hand sanitiser, floor stickers for social distancing, daily health checks for employees and temperature and travel history checks for guests are just a handful of the industry-wide approaches that have already been incorporated.

Rusutsu resort in Hokkaido is operating reduced capacity on its airport transfer buses in order to better assure social distancing and gondolas are being disinfected between each ride.

Kiroro resort has introduced digital menus in its restaurants, as well as implementing a strict guided seating process led by restaurant staff members.

Temperatures warmed and virus cases increased in mid-November throwing doubts on the start of the country’s main season at the end of November and start of December.

What happened in Japan during the first 6 months of the pandemic?

Japanese ski areas kept operating through the initial stages of the pandemic in February and until late-April, in the cases of resorts that usually stay open to the start of May.  However, a second, worse, wave on the pandemic in mid-April caused all to close by April 24th.

On 6th May SnowJapan.com reported that one Japanese area, Yokoteyama/Shibutoge in Shiga Kogen, was re-opening for a short period from Thursday 7th May.

The country has lifted its state of emergency again in late May and the lone summer ski area Gassan opened again, ending its season at the end of July.

Initially that was for local skiers in Yamagata Prefecture only, and at one point skiers had to present ID to show they had not travelled from outside the area when buying tickets, but is now open to all once more.

Norway

*** Updated 27th November ***

Norway Social Distancing Requirements: 1 Metre (40 Inches).

Norway Ski Centres Currently Open: 2

Norway perhaps had the shortest closed period of any of the world’s ski areas in spring 2020 and has had ski areas open almost constantly since late April.

In November 2020 the general view was that the country was handling the second wave of the pandemic fairly well and that most ski areas should be able to re-open subject to the approval of their local health authorities.

What Happened in Norway During The First 6 Months of the Pandemic?

Norway was one of the first countries in Europe to ease its lockdown, in late April, allowing smaller ski areas to re-open, if agreed by local government and health bodies and social distancing and other measures in place. About a dozen areas re-opened and some got another 4-6 weeks of the season in before closing in late-May as the snow melted.

However three glaciers ski areas stayed open until early August and two are still open.

The third glacier to open, Stryn, opening for is season on 12th June but was the first to close in August.

Fonna glacier area had had so much snow this winter and spring the main issue for them has been clearing snow, more than the pandemic, but they eventually opened after more than a month of digging out the access road with snow lying up to 15 metres/50 feet deep and also operating with social distancing and all other anti-virus-spread measures in place.

Poland

*** Updated 26 November ***

Social Distancing Requirements in Poland: 1.5 Metres.

Polish ski centres currently operational: 0

Poland has said its ski slopes will reopen this season – but only for local residents and during the school holidays, with resort hotels and restaurants remaining closed.

What Happened in Poland at the Start of the Pandemic

Poland relaxed its lockdown and allowed mountain areas to re-open lifts at the start of May, one of the first countries in Europe to do so. However the season is ended there now anyway.

Scotland

The silhouetted quad chairlift at Nevis Range, with mist filling the glen below.

*** Updated 26 November ***

Social Distancing Requirements in Scotland: 2 Metres, Mask worn in lift queues and indoors.

Scottish ski centres currently operational: 0

Most of Scotland’s ski areas say they are ready to open in December when conditions are good. However Nevis Range ski area says it is shutting down operations until the trading situation is better, having made substantial losses during the pandemic. It hopes to re-open in the New Year if snow conditions and trading possibilities improve sufficiently (14 November).

The other four areas say they plan to open on or before December 19th depending on snow conditions.

What Happened in Scotland at the start of the Global Pandemic

Some long-time observers of Scotland’s challenging winters for ski area operators pointed to the irony that conditions from late-March and though April would have been the best in recent years for several of the country’s ski areas.  On the West Coast, in particular, the snow was lying deep, the weather has been much less windy than usual and the weather service reported April was the sunniest in the country since records began.  Re-opening ski slopes didn’t happen though as Britain eased its lockdown, and Glencoe had a virtual version of its famous midsummer snowsports day in late June.

Slovak Republic

***Updated 12 June ***

Social Distancing Requirement in the Slovak Republic: 2 Metres (6.7 feet)

Ski Centres Currently open in the Slovak Republic: 0

Slovakia’s ski resorts usually start opening in December. November conditions have not been ideal for a pre-season base build up with little natural snowfall and temperatures often too warm for snowmaking.

What happened in the Slovak Republic in the first 6 Months of the Pandemic?

The Slovak Republic became the first country to re-open a major mountain resort complete with large chairlifts, gondolas, funitel and cable-car lifts on May 1st. Jasna has full social distancing measures in place, as detailed in ‘Operating In A Pandemic – What Has Changed?’ below.

Slovenia

(Kanin, late May 2020)

***Updated 27 November ***

Slovenia Social Distancing Requirement: 1.5 Metres (5 Feet)

Ski Resorts open in Slovenia: 0

Slovenian ski areas tend to start opening in December. It has been rather warm and dry in November but Kranjska Gora said towards the end of the month it hoped to open soon.

What Happened in Slovenia in the first 6 Months of the Pandemic

Kanin ski area announced it was re-opening due to good conditions up high from 14th May. The Slovenian national squad were training there and organised the first national competitions anywhere since lockdown began. The centre closed again on 31st May.

Spain

*** Updated 23rd November ***

Spain Social Distancing Requirements: 1.5 Metres (60 Inches).

Ski centres currently Open in Spain: 0

Leading ski area Sierra Nevada which was due to open on 27th November says it won’t open until virus conditions improve. Another leading area Baqueira Beret, another leading Spanish area, say they’ll open on 11th December, later than usual

Sweden

Sweden resorts reopening 2020
Risgransen Pre-season March 2020

***Updated 27 November, 2020 ***

Sweden Social Distancing Requirements: 1 Metre (40 Inches).

Sweden Ski Centres Currently Open: 2

Sweden’s 2020-21 ski season began on 16th October 2020 at Idre Fjall ski centre which used snow-farming – saving snow from the previous season stockpiled under cover through summer then spreading it back out on the slopes in October – to open a downhill run and cross country ski trails.

Unseasonably warm weather in November delayed some resorts opening and there were also growing concerns that increasing virus case numbers could make opening ski areas a bad idea in terms of potential virus spread.

Sweden’s Response To The Pandemic in Spring 2020

Sweden took a different tack to most nations in locking down at a more gradual pace and still less severe than most other countries, whilst asking its citizens to behave sensibly. 

Most of the country’s ski areas were closed in April however as restrictions were increased, among the last in the world to do so. Not all did though, with several agreeing with their local authorities that they could continue to operate.

The last of these to stay open and become the only resort in the world to operated its normal season through the pandemic to date was Riksgransen in the far north which remained open through to May 24th.

However skiing and boarding under the midnight sun which usually take place in May each year was cancelled in 2020 due to a lack of guests, and the annual season-ending Big Mountain Championships are a video competition this year instead.

But the resort did reopen for four days from June 18-21 for is annual midsummer opening festivities and offered midnight sun skiing/boarding then.

Switzerland

Switzerland resorts reopening 2020
Fresh snow on 29 April, 2020

*** Updated November 27th ***

Switzerland Social-Distancing Requirement: 1.5 Metres (5 Feet)

Switzerland Ski Centres Currently Open: 20 (some only at weekends)

Swiss ski centres are opening for the 20-21 season as normal, some earlier than normal. Zermatt has been open since June, Saas Fee since July.

Heavy snowfall at the beginning and end of September led a third area, Glacier 3000 near Gstaad and les Diablerets to open nearly six weeks earlier than planned at the start of October. It was followed by the Titlis Glacier above Engelberg on the 10th.

The Diavolezza Glacier near St Moritz opened on the 19th then Davos on the 24th. Next came Andermatt, Arosa, Laax and Verbier on 30th/31st October – some only opening initially at weekends.

There was a fear that the country would go in to a November lockdown like its neighbours but on 4th November the government decided to keep most businesses open although there were increase restrictions on restaurants and other businesses put in place. An 11th Swiss area, Crans Montana, announced it was opening on the 7th.

Swiss centres have comprehensive anti-pandemic-spread measures in place and have created a ‘Safe & Secure’ holiday label.

Lifts can operate at capacity if busy but everyone must swear masks however from the end of October opening resorts began announcing measures similar to those adopted in North America and in much of the southern hemisphere during the 2020 season there. In some case limited numbers on lifts, in waiting areas and on the whole mountain. Also insisting tickets are bought online, sometimes with timed slots. Laax initially opened to season pass holders only.

In late November the leaders of France, Germany and Italy put forward a plan to close all EU ski areas until January 10th but on November 26th Switzerland’s health minister said ski areas there would stay open through the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Switzerland During The First 6 Months of the Pandemic

Switzerland slowly eased its lockdown from May.  Zermatt, usually open for snowsports 365 days a year, re-opened on June 6th.

Saas Fee opened for it’s nine month season through to April 2021 in mid-July.

However on July 6th the country made wearing face masks on public transport (previously advised but not a legal requirement) a legal requirement. In terms of ski resorts operating ski lifts, this initially only impacts skiers at Zermatt.

“Since this morning it has become mandatory on all cable car cabins and gondolas run by Zermatt’s lift company to wear face masks. We ask you to observe these for the protection of yourselves and others and thank you for understanding,” a statement from Zermatt Bargbahnen advised on July 6th, adding,

“If you don’t carry a mask with you, you can buy mouth-nose protection at the kiosks of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG as well as in the Matterhorn glacier paradise restaurant.”

Shops, bars and restaurants re-opened from May 11th although with restrictions in place. 

Although now closed again, Crans Montana, announced on 28th May it would re-open its glacier slopes for a nine-day period from Saturday, 6th June.

Some Swiss ski areas are also deciding on whether they’ll open next winter. Almost all are deciding yes but a few small areas have decided it’s not viable on virus safety and/or financial grounds.

USA

USA resorts reopening 2020
Mt Baldy Early May 2020

***Updated 27 November ***

USA Social Distancing Requirement: 6 Feet (1.8 Metres)

USA Ski Centres Currently Open: 100+

Wild Mountain in Minnesota was the first ski area in the US (and North America) to open for winter 20-21 on Tuesday 20th October following low temps for snowmaking and some natural snowfall in the Midwest.

It was joined by Trollhaugen, over the state border in Wisconsin, on Sunday 25th October.

They were joined by Wolf Creek in Colorado opening a week later on 28th October after around two-feet (60cm) of snowfall there. Next to open in the state was Keystone on November 6th, then Arapahoe Basin on the 9th, Loveland on the 11th and Breckenridge on the 13th.

The ski season got underway in Montana on Halloween at the Great Divide ski area. The 4th area in the US to Open.

Lookout Pass was the first ski area to open for the season in Idaho for the new season, with fourteen trails open, five of them groomed on opening day, 14th November.

Crystal Mountain in Washington State opened on 18th November, two days earlier than planned, due to good snow conditions. Killington was first in the East on 20th November.

There have been many more areas open since then. However Taos delayed its planned opening in late November after the New Mexico state government announced pandemic operating restrictions.

Most of the country’s ski areas had opened by the start of December.

Ski areas in the US are offering a “very different” winter 2020-21.

Most have announced they plan to open as usual although some are delaying opening a little to ensure enough terrain is open when they do open.

Vail Resorts are limiting early-season access to their Epic Pass season pass holders only, until December 8th. Pass holders will then have priority booking for other days.

Most are announcing things like 50% capacity limits on mountains to avoid over-crowding, the need to book lift tickets and mountain access in advance and those driving to the mountains to book car parking.

Many other measures are being put in place to prevent the danger of spreading the virus when they open.

What happened in the US during the first 6 months of the pandemic?

The last resort still open in the US for winter 20-21 ended its season at the end of August.

It was a complex picture in the US during the period from March to June with different states having different lockdown rules, easing restrictions at different times.

All areas were closed for most of April until Mt Baldy in southern California decided that it could re-open if local golf course could. It stayed open to May 5th when the advance of spring weather appears to have led to its closure.

In Oregon an announcement of eased restrictions in early May meant
Timberline Lodge & Ski Area in Oregon re-opened on Friday, 15th May. Operating the longest season in North America, Timberline usually stays open to late summer and initially said it would stay open to September 7th this year.

It later brought closing day forward to August 30th after a month of very hot weather.

For July and August Timberline was the only US resort open, although the US ski team and other private groups were reported to have been training on snow at Copper Mountain in Colorado until mid-August.

In terms of other US ski areas that are usually open in late spring and in some cases early summer:

Mt Bachelor, a second Oregon resort, also re-opened, from May 16th, but only for 9 days to the 24th May, and only for season pass holders. Both areas sold out of lift tickets for re-opening day very fast.

In Vermont, although re-starting its summer mountain operations, Killington decided ‘on balance’ not to re-open for late-May snowsports on its Superstar trail, although the snow is there and it would usually open to the end of the month in a normal season.

In Minnesota Wild Mountain ski area groomed some of is remaining snow and installed rails and other features to create a hike-up terrain park which it opened on the afternoon of May 9th, charging $10 for access or free to season-pass holders.

In Colorado restrictions were eased a little in early May allowing people to enjoy outdoor recreation within 10 miles of their homes but this was quickly followed by a ban on ski areas re-opening before May 22nd. This led Aspen, which said it had been hoping to do so if permitted, to then say it wouldn’t re-open this spring. Wolf Creek had also been aiming to re-open.

On 25th May it was announced that Arapahoe Basin would re-open from Wednesday 27th May. This proved so popular the resort had to run a lottery to see who can buy lift tickers each day.  It later announced it would close for the season on June 7th due to snow conditions.

Crystal Mountain in Washington State announced a similar short re-opening, just 7 days after initially saying they’d re-open for a fortnight. They were open from June 1st to June 7th.

Other US areas that typically stay open to late spring so could possibly re-open if their states deem it safe to do so and they with and are able to include Mammoth and Squaw Valley in California and Snowbird in Utah but all gave snowsports a miss in spring 2020, although re-opening for summer activities.

The small Beartooth Basin summer ski area on the Montana/Wyoming border reopened for its 2020 season on June 1st and operated for just over three weeks to around June 23rd when it closed due to thin cover.

What has changed at ski resorts?
Ski resort safety

THE A-Z OF THE ‘NEW NORMAL ON THE WORLD’S SKI SLOPES…

Apres Ski

The apres ski scene looks like it will be quieter and socially distanced this winter. Austrian resorts, infamous for their crowded, lively bars at the base of the slopes, which some say caused fast virus spread in February and March, say winter 20-21 will see these toned-down dramatically with social distancing and quiet music playing, one describing them as “more like coffee lounges”

Car Parking

For skiers arriving by car, some resorts are providing timed arrival slots which must be booked in advance to avoid gatherings of people at the base. Others are requiring cars, like people, to be socially distanced – including Caviahue in Argentina:

Early Closure Calls

Some ski areas, most notably in Argentina when areas re-opened there from late July, have introduced a policy of deciding the day before if an area will open the next day, based on the forecast rather than the actual weather on the day. The idea is to avoid the danger of a lot of people gathering waiting together at the bottom of what turn out to be closed, storm-bound slopes.

Eating and Drinking

There are different approaches being employed in different ski areas. However there are common themes. Screens to separate distanced tables are common, as are the options of food delivery services. Some are offering a counter takeaway service only and some only outdoor dining with tables spaced two metres or more apart and the same rules of social distancing we are getting used to with groups that are together anyway able to eat and sit together but separate groups and individuals well spaced out. 

Mt Hutt, NZ, August 2020

For ski areas that attract a lot of self-driving clientele they’re promoting a “your car is your base lodge” approach with skiers encouraged to bring their own food and drink to consume in their cars during breaks.s

Faster Lifts

A number of ski areas in Europe and North America have announced they’ll be running their lifts faster, where that’s an option, this winter, to minimise time on board. This is along with frequent cleaning, contact-less-access open windows and mask wearing. Italy’s Alta Badia and Jackson Hole in the US are among resorts announcing this.

Health Certification

It’s not yet clear how much this will be an issue next winter but skiers in China have to prove to ski centres in advance of buying a ticket that they had a certificate to say they were virus-free before they were allowed to buy a lift ticket.

Hygiene

Ski areas that are currently open are making a lot of efforts to clean And disinfect public areas including lifts regularly and continuously and hand sanitisers are being made widely available for visiting skiers.

Ski resort hygiene 2020

Lift Tickets

Resorts are doing all they can to minimise human contact in the ticket purchasing process. This typically means buying your pass online and adding credit to an electronic pass.  If it’s a resort with a physical pass you’ll likely pay for online or on a site with a contactless card and collect it in a way that avoids human contact.

Limited Numbers

Some ski areas that have been operating in recent weeks and months have strictly limited the number of people allowed on site.  Many require you to buy your lift pass and book your time on the slopes at least a day in advance, you can no longer just roll-up.  Some have sold-out for several days in advance as a result. Reports from Australia indicated tickets at some resorts were snapped up for much of the season there. Some have also staggered arrival times at the base.

Masks and Gloves

Fortunately boarders and skiers and used to having their body’s covered to keep the cold and snow out, but most resorts now require gloves and masks to be worn at all times, particularly in indoor public spaces, in line with most governments around the world, not just when skiing downhill. 

Queuing for the Lift

We should see an end to any scrums at the base of the lifts as social distancing measures are put in to place with spacings generally marked on the ground 6 feet/2 metres apart.  It remains to be seen if resorts will offer extended opening times for lifts in peak periods in order to get enough people up the mountain.

Riding the Lift

Family groups and other groups that are already together are able to ride on chairs and in cabins together but otherwise, there’ll be social distancing with cable car/tram and gondola cabins as well as on chairlifts so the number of people getting in any individual cabin or on a chair will be dramatically reduced and face masks must be worn.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is LiftRulesMtBuller-002.jpg

Ski Rentals

Some ski areas have re-opened but said that only those with their own equipment could visit and that rentals would not be available – another move to minimise the risk of virus spread.

Ski School

Some re-opened resorts aren’t offering group lessons, only private classes.

Temperature Checks

A large number of ski areas are now scanning foreheads for your body temperature as well as your lift pass to check its valid.

(Chapelco in Argentina)

Toilets

A few smaller ski areas that have re=-opened have said their toilets won’t be open in a move to reduce the risk of virus spread. Others have opened their toilets but with only one persona allowed in at a time and social-distancing queuing outside, and of course lots of hand-sanitisers available.H

Weekend Closures

A number of re-opened ski areas are closing midweek or at other times. Unusually in Chile when ski areas re-opened there the busiest open days at the weekend were ruled out in order to keep numbers on the slopes deliberately low.

Southern Hemisphere 2020 ‘Pandemic Season’ Archive

Argentina

Argentina resorts reopening 2020

*** Updated 29 September 2020 ***

Argentina Social Distancing Requirement: 2 Metres (6.6 Feet)

Argentina Ski areas Currently open: 0

Argentina had a strict lockdown in place from mid-March which appears to have limited the spread of the virus more effectively than in many other South American countries.  The lockdown was extended several times but was eased on a region-by-region basis from early August.

About five Argentinian ski areas opened during August and September 2020, the last of these closing again for the season on 28th September.

On July 23rd Cerro Catedral near he ski town of Bariloche became the first ski area in South America to open for the 2020 ski season. The centre is open for local skiers only with regional and international travel difficult and not advised.

Two more areas, Cerro Bayo and Cerro Castor announced they’d open to local skiers from Saturday, August 1st and Chapelco and other Argentinian ski areas have also now opened, Caviahue from 15th August.

Earlier in July when things began to ease slightly already at Cerro Castor down near Tierra del Fuego and the world’s most southerly developed ski area. It opening its resort base and ice rink to local people in the province and also allowed cross country skiing although until 1st August its lifts were not running and downhill slopes were closed.

However another of the country’s leading resorts, Las Lenas, announced in late-May that it won’t now open this season whatever happens.

Argentina’s ski-season would normally have begun in mid-June and usually runs to early October. Of the half-dozen ski areas that were open, centres began closing again for the end of the season from mid-September.

Cerro Castor closed on September 25th, Catedral on the 27th.

At the still closed ski areas in Argentina they were warning backcountry skiers during the winter and spring that they should not be hiking up to ski slopes in the Andes during the ongoing lockdown there. They warned there’d been no avalanche prevention measures and there are currently no rescue or medical staff on site whilst resorts were closed. As there had been a lot of snowfall, the avalanche danger was extreme.

Australia

Australia resorts reopening 2020

*** Last Updated 4 October 2020 ***

Australia Social Distancing Requirement: 1.5 Metres (5 Feet)

Australia ski areas currently open: 0

2020 has really been a season like no other in Australia.

The country’s 2020 season got underway on 22nd June with Mt Baw Baw and Thredbo opening. This was a few weeks later than usual as Aussie ski areas normally open for the ski season around the first weekend of June, a national holiday weekend in the country. It lasted until 4th October when Perisher, the last area open, ended its season.

This year anticipation has been raised by huge autumn snowfalls at the start of May, with several smaller snowfalls and lowering temperatures since. June was drier but the snow returned in early July. However overall it was one of the warmer winters.

In the last week of May the provinces of New South Wales and Victoria, where most of the country’s ski centres are, both announced centres could start their seasons from June 22nd as pandemic restrictions are eased.

The next areas to open were Mt Baw Baw and Perisher on the 24th with fellow Vail Resorts owned Falls Creek and Hotham initially saying they’d open on the 29th June but later delaying to 6th July due to limited early snow cover.

Charlotte Pass had company operated accommodation open from Thursday 25th June with the ski slopes open from Friday 26th June. So all of the country’s leading ski areas had opened by July 6th, other than Mt Selwyn which will remain closed during the season due to bushfire damage which destroyed lifts earlier in the year.

However from July 8th operations of ski areas in Victoria (Falls Creek, Hotham, Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller) were in some doubt following a spike in cases around the city of Melbourne. Residents from, areas of the city now in strict lockdown again who had bookings are being refunded payment and ski areas say they are reviewing operations.

Falls Creek and Hotham initially closed again for at least 6 weeks to August 19th -about 6 weeks from the end of the season, but then decided to stay closed. The state’s other two areas did stay open at that point though: Mt Baw Baw was opening weekends for snowsports and Mt Buller was open for much of July.

In an added twist, whilst operator Vail Resorts has closed the lifts at Falls Creek and Mt Hotham, the resorts themselves were still open, and other activities are available to people in Victoria, including back country skiing.

Pandemic-spread prevention measures meant the now-normal social-distancing and limited numbers on the mountain. Most areas operated at around 50% capacity and there was a 1.5 metre social distancing rule in place.

Thredbo initially put lift tickets on sale online on 10th June but had its site overloaded with more than 25,000 people trying to buy lift tickets in the first few hours they were on sale – so there was certainly demand.

There was another twist later in July as the pandemic in Victoria worsened and the state’s government reimposed restrictions meaning Mt Buller and Mt Baw Baw have had to close again.

This was reviewed on September 13th but Buller and Mt Baw Baw did not re-open, in part due to poor snow conditions after a warm winter. Vail Resorts had already said Falls Creek and Mt Hotham won’t now re-open this winter though, whatever happened in mid-September.

In the meantime a short season began at Ben Lomond in Tasmania as there was finally adequate snow cover.

Thredbo ended its season on 22nd September citing poor snow conditions. It’s also worth remembering even before the virus was a known danger, one Australian area, Selwyn, had already ruled out opening in 2020 after it was destroyed by bush fires at the very start of the year.

Chile

*** Last Updated 11 October, 2020 ***

Chile Social Distancing Requirement: 2 Metres (6.6 Feet)

Chile Ski Centres Open: 0

Chile’s season usually starts in mid-June but the country has been is a strict lockdown since the autumn which only began to be slightly eased in mid-August.

The last of the three ski areas that re-opened there in late summer ended its season on 11th October 2020.

There were signs from the start of August that ski areas might be allowed to open and resorts have been stressing they have so much snow they might be able to stay open until November – if they did get the chance to open.

Some started opening to non-skiing day visitors although lifts and runs remained closed, then on the 11th August the government announced some areas could open with restrictions.

La Parva was the first to say it would do so, to season pass holders only, from the 18th August, El Colorado followed on the 19th. A third, Corralco, opened on 29th August, Others said the remainder of the ski season was so limited and their costs to open so high with all the COVID related restrictions it was not worth them opening for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Ski areas were only open to local people with season passes or similar, and unusually they were not allowed to open at weekends. Other measures at resorts that have reopened including cutting hill capacity by up to 70%, only one person per chairlift seat, limits on numbers in mountain restaurants and so on.

In the end only the three areas opened in Chile in 2020. La Parva was the first of the three to end its season, on 25 September, followed by El Colorado on the 4th October and finally Corralco on the 11th October.

Earlier in the Pandemic in Chile

The initial three month state-of-emergency began in mid-March but in mid-June the government announced a further three month extension to mid-September, the end of the ski season.

The country has unfortunately been one of the hardest hit in South America and the entire world by the virus – in terms of known infections.

Portillo said in mid-June that it has proactively set is planned opening date back about a month to July 18th and was offering 100% refund guarantee or free re-booking for 2021 for those who want to reserve a place in the hope that they would be able to open then.

However on June 23rd it announced it had suspended its opening date indefinitely” – until it had “better news” on being able to open.

In May Chile’s Asociacion de Centros de Ski de Chile, an association of 12 of the country’s resorts, put together proposal on the safe operation of ski lifts and other facilities during the pandemic. It organised a Webinar with senior tourism staff from the Chilean government in late July – stressing that it had a plan to operate ski areas safely in terms of the pandemic, and the need for skiing for good physical and mental well-being, as well as economic reasons.

Lesotho

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Afriski-15-June-2.jpg

*** Updated September 29th, 2020 ***

South Africa Social Distancing Requirement: 1.8 Metres (6 Feet)

Lesotho Ski Areas Currently Open: 0

Lesotho has one small ski area, Afriski (pictured above on 15 April), which was originally due to open for the season at the start of June. Afriski later announced that now that Lesotho has fully re-opened its economy, it would open for its 2020 season on 18th June.

However although its borders remain closed, it did open some terrain to locals and thus became the first southern hemisphere ski area to open on June 5th, 2020.

It was the first ski area in the southern hemisphere to open for its 2020 season. In the end it operated all winter with Lesotho-only skiers as the South African border did not open.

The resort closed for the season on it’s normal closing date: 30th August.

In a statement about their opening plans back in May, Afriski’s team said,

“The big unknown unfortunately rests on the SA governments decision on when to ease travel restrictions. Fortunately, the Lesotho government has taken a far more progressive, yet responsible, stance relating to the re-opening of their hospitality and food and beverage sector. Despite this uncertainty we have decided to take a leap of faith.”

“This will further ensure great snow production and the best skiing conditions possible,” the statement said.

The centre’s statement also confirms virus-safety is the new priority and therefore their prime focus is on being a COVID safe and ready destination.

The same Health and Safety standards applied to companies were applied at the resort through the season including temperature checks for staff and guests in combination with the required personal and company PPE standards which will soon become the norm everywhere. Other practical measures such as adjusted seating plan and mealtimes at the Sky Restaurant together with improved take away and delivery offering from Sky and Gondola are some of the measures were put in place.

Commenting on whether skiers should book to visit the resort before their season began the statement concluded,

“Our hope is that you do indeed say Yes! It is of course a risk but it is equally a vote of confidence and a step in the right direction to reclaim the world that we once knew. The resort, and indeed the entire tourism ecosystem, now depends on the faith of every single guest willing to contribute and support their favourite holiday destinations through this crazy period on planet earth.”  “In the end hospitality is about people and it’s a great injustice that an entire army of individuals dedicated to social cohesion are being forced toward the abyss of extinction due to an alien in town called social distancing. We hope our guests see their holiday booking as a vote of confidence for the continuation of travel and hospitality.”

Afriski said they were granted a care and maintenance concession enabling them to keep their team on the mountain during the lockdown period to complete critical projects ahead of the coming ski season. These included the completion of a new high-altitude dam which will gravity feed a 40,000m3 water reserve into the resort’s snowmaking network which will add 50% more snowmaking capacity to their already extensive system.

New Zealand

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Mt-Hut-12-June-3-1024x683.jpg

*** Updated October 18th 2020 ***

New Zealand Social Distancing Requirement: 0 Metres

New Zealand Ski Areas Currently Open: 0

New Zealand has been held up as an example of how to handle the pandemic well, with few infections there.

The country has had a relatively normal season in terms of operating without the need for masks or social distancing, unlike any other country in fact, other than a period from early August to early September when restrictions were reintroduced.

Most ski areas in the country had closed by mid-October but two centres on Mt Ruapehu on the country’s North Island planned to stay open to mid-November snow permitting. They admitted defeat on 26th October however, ending New Zealand’s and the southern hemisphere’s 2020 season.

Pandemic era operations in New Zealand during 2020

The country moved to a loosened ‘level 3’ lockdown in May which meant ski centres were among bodies that could start to see staff back on the mountains, preparing for the start of the June or July seasons.

The further loosened Level 2 was reached on May 14th meaning most areas say they aim to open on schedule with all now increasingly usual anti-virus-spread measures in place.

Then on June 8th they announced Level 1 would be introduced meaning no social distancing would be required on the slopes and mountain restaurants and other indoor spaces could operate normally.

Things continued in that happy ‘old normal’ vein’ for two almost two months when, after no new cases for 102 days, four people tested positive in Auckland, leading the NZ government to re-introduce Level 2 on 12th August, the first time the country’s ski areas had to act with social distancing and other anti-COVID measures.

These were eased again back to Level 1 on 22nd Sepember, just as ski areas began closing for the season. Way back before the start of the season Mt Ruapehu had previously announced the southern hemisphere’s earliest opening date, May 30th, for its Happy Valley snow play and learning area at Whakapapa which has all weather snowmaking. This was postponed to July 1st however.

In the event therefore Mt Hutt was the first full ski area to open, on June 12th (a week after its originally given June 5th). It also became the first ski area in the world to open with no social-distancing or other requirements (at the time and for the first two months of the season) for more than three months.

Several other centres announced their planned opening dates were to be delayed and that opening would be weekends-only for much of the season.

Seven centres had opened by the end of June however – the most open in the world at that point. The first boarder seen there in 2020, possibly for the entire southern hemisphere, is pictured above at Coronet Peak on May 5th. S

South Africa

South Africa resorts reopening 2020

*** Updated 23 September 2020 ***

South Africa Social Distancing Requirement: 1.5 Metres (5 Feet)

South Africa Ski Centres Currently Open: 0

South Africa had had the highest number of coronavirus cases in Africa, as of the start of May, but decided to start easing its lockdown after five weeks at the end of April due to what was perceived as wider harm being caused by the restrictions.

The easing of restrictions allows for some limited outdoor activity but only for a few hours a day. 

At the beginning of June South Africa moved to lockdown alert Level 3. Under this level, all hotels and establishments can operate only if they are providing accommodation for people travelling for business. According to the regulations at the time, no accommodation establishments or attractions were allowed to open for leisure purposes. Restrictions were eased further but at the end of June it was reported that tourism would not be allowed to restart until September.

That was further bad news for the country’s one small ski area, Tiffindell, which was due to open for is 2020 season in early June and has been snowmaking and seen some natural snowfall too. In the end though it was unable to open for 2020 making South Africa the first and only country in the world where no ski area opened for an entire season due to the virus.

Operations are currently on hold and with the season normally running to the end of August it now looks like there’l be no 2020 ski season in South Africa.

News Headlines From Earlier in the Pandemic

NOVEMBER

OCTOBER

  • Verbier say they’ll open early, this Friday 30th October, due to the good conditions. Andermatt opening Saturday but with limited numbers allowed to maintain social-distancing. (29th October).
  • Italy’s Val Senales, one of two ski areas in the country that have stayed open despite a new Italian ‘mini lockdown’ to November 24th requiring ski areas to close, says they’re staying open.  “We take the current situation very seriously: that’s why we have developed a safety plan and ask our visitors to respect our safety regulations on site. Especially at this particular time we want to keep giving you the opportunity to enjoy winter sports, walk outdoors and breathe in the fresh mountain air. This year we have learned that circumstances can change at any time: if this happens, we will keep you informed on our website. In the meantime, we wish you an exciting ski season – with safety and awareness!”  Of the other three other areas Cervinia closed but re-opened to racers and Passo Stelvio closed at end of season anyway. Sulden also remains open. (28 October)
  • Kitzbuhel in Austria, Banff in Canada, Cervinia in Italy and Davos in Switzerland are the latest big name resorts to open for winter 20-21 under pandemic operating restrictions. 30+ ski areas now open in 10 countries. (24 October).
  • Just one ski area is believed to be still open for winter 2020 in the southern hemisphere, Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu’s on New Zealand’s North Island. It should stay open until the end of the month then its neighbour, Turoa, plans to re-open for the first half of November, conditions permitting (22 October).
  • Davos has announced their Parsenn ski area will open two weeks earlier than planned, this Saturday 24th October, due to the good October snow conditions. (22 October).
  • The 2020 season is finally over at the Fonna Glacier summer area in Norway, one of the first areas in the world to open after the lockdown, at the time with about 13 metres (43 feet) of snow lying.  That saw it through the past five months and 171 days of operations, although with some summer snowfall top ups too.  Fonna opens for next season on 15th of May 2021 (18 October)
  • Less than a fortnight until the start of the North American ski season. (17 October)
  • Ski season starts at Les 2 Alpes and Tignes in France as well as Idre Fjall in Sweden taking number of countries with ski areas open to nine (17 October).
  • Natural snowfall and now snowmaking underway mean the start of North America’s 20-21 ski season is very close. (Oct 12).
  • Mt Hutt, the first major ski area to open for 2020 southern hemisphere ski season nearly 4 months ago to the day has ended its season, most of which took place without the usual virus restrictions as New Zealand kept the virus out. Two ski areas on the country’s Mt Ruapehu are aiming to stay open into ‘Snowvember” – conditions permitting. (11 October).
  • Engelberg 14th glacier in the Alps (4th in Switzerland) to open for 2020-21 ski season (9 October).
  • French 20-21 ski season set to start at two glacier ski areas in a weeks’ time (9 October).
  • FIS give green light to World Cup 2020-21 Season start races in Solden in a week’s time (below) (9 October). 

SEPTEMBER

AUGUST

JULY

JUNE

MAY

2020 Calendar Archive

JUNE 2020

June 1: Beartooth Basin summerski area in US opened for 2020.

June 1: Crystal Mountain in Washington State, opens for summer skiing.

June 5: Mt Hutt scheduled to open in New Zealand (delayed to June 12th).

June 5: Stryn glacier new season start date (delayed again to June 12th).

June 5: Afriski is first ski area in southern hemisphere to open for winter 2020.

June 6:  Zermatt re-opens. Crans Montana re-opens ski slopes for 9 days.June 6: Austria’s Molltal glacier opens for 2020-21 ski season.

June 6: Les 2 Alpes and Val d’Isere open for glacier skiing for ski team training. Val d’Isere also offering public skiing.

June 7: Tiffindel, South Africa, aimed to start season (but could not).

June 7: Arapahoe Basin, Crystal Mountain and Kaunertal end ski seasons.

June 12: First full scale southern hemisphere ski resort starts 2020 season – Mt Hutt in NZ.

June 13: Italy’s ski-season restarts at Passo Stelvio.

June 18: Riksgransen in Swedish Arctic Circle re-opening for midsummer skiing.

June 20: Tignes aims to open for summer skiing.

June 20: Cervinia provides ski lift access to Zermatt’s glacier as borders reopen.

June 22: Thredbo and Mt Baw Baw season start.

June 24: Perisher and Mt Buller season start.

June 26: Charlotte Pass opens for 2020 season.

June 27: Les 2 Alpes to open for summer skiing for all.

Common Sense

Please note that we are a ski and snowboarding information site and exist to provide snowfall information to people who love skiing and snowboarding …whether we’re in lockdown due to a pandemic or not. By endeavouring to provide information on what is open or opening we are certainly NOT implying that now is the time to try to break through closed borders to travel to the slopes. But there will be a time in the future when we can travel again, and we think most people can cope with knowing the truth about the current state of the ski world, and dream about getting back to it when safe to do so.  That’s what we’re here for.

1 Comment
  1. Harvard Global Health Director: Positive Outlook for Skiing in 20/21 Despite COVID-19 - SkiTips by SkiBro

    11th August 2020 11:44 am

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    […] Currently there are more than 35 ski areas open in 10 countries on 5 continents, with the only closed areas that would usually be open at this time in Chile and South Africa.  […]

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