Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #298

• Andes Explode Into Action: Valle Nevado Opens With 60cm, Chillán Gets Whopping 1.2m Dump
• Mt Hutt Finally Opens—And Delivers Massive Terrain, Deepest Base in NZ So Far
• Australia Powers Ahead: Perisher Hits 15 Lifts, Falls Creek Expands With Fresh Snow
• Argentina Joins the Party: Cerro Bayo and Chapelco Kick Off After Heavy Snowfall
• Chile’s Mega Snowfall Sparks Resort Rush—Portillo, La Parva, El Colorado All Opening

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE INTRO

After a few nervous weeks, the ski season in the Andes has gotten underway with a big snowfall kickstarting a flurry of activity. Chile's Valle Nevado was the first on the continent to open last Friday, announcing its intention to do so late on Wednesday after our report had been published last week. It opened just as 60cm (2 feet) of snow dumped there on Friday/Saturday. Many other ski resorts in Chile, and the first in Argentina, have now announced their intention to open over the next few days. Among them is another Chilean area, Nevados de Chillán, which got an incredible 1.2m (4 feet) of snowfall while it was dumping on Valle Nevado.

New Zealand's ski season also started last Saturday with four of the country’s leading centres opening, including Mt Hutt after it suffered a third delay on its planned openings on May 31, June 7, and June 13. When it finally could open, though, it immediately opened almost the whole mountain—much more than any other Southern Hemisphere area yet open—and posted a very healthy snow depth too.

Elsewhere, Australian ski areas have consolidated their successful opening the weekend before last by opening more extensive terrain. The pass through the mountains to Southern Africa's Afriski resort in Lesotho has reopened after the snow was cleared from it, so skiers can access it again.

AUSTRALIA REPORT

Australia’s great start to its 2025 season continues. After the big snowfalls on opening weekend led to reported accumulated bases of up to 65cm (26”), there’s been a little more snowfall and, crucially, low temperatures allowing snowmaking systems to continue to operate overnight. The country’s largest resort, Perisher (50/65cm / 20/26"), has progressively opened key lifts and terrain, reaching 15 lifts now operating (a third of its maximum), offering access to some of the best early-season conditions in years. Beginners are especially well catered for in these early weeks of the season, the resort says, with Perisher’s Front Valley and Smiggin Holes providing pristine beginner terrain. Blue Cow will officially open this Saturday, 21 June, meaning options for skiing and boarding will be available across all four of Perisher’s resort areas, including Guthega, Smiggin Holes, and Perisher—although not yet interlinked.

At Hotham (40/60cm / 16/24”), the resort’s most iconic lift, Heavenly, has officially opened for the 2025 snow season, unlocking the terrain that defines the resort.

“Heavenly is our bread and butter; it’s the lift that brings the mountain to life,” said Tina Burford, Vice President & General Manager of Hotham. “It opens up the terrain that sets us apart and delivers the kind of alpine experience our guests come here for.”

Falls Creek (40/55cm / 16/22”), meanwhile, reported another 11.5cm (4”) of snowfall on Monday/Tuesday and has opened their Eagle Express and Drovers Dream chairlifts after the early storm dropped 71cm (28”) of fresh snow there. The expanded terrain offer follows around-the-clock work by the mountain operations team to clear lift zones, de-ice chairs, and ensure all safety checks are completed.

“This is one of the best season starts we’ve seen in years,” said Richard Phillips, Vice President & General Manager of Falls Creek Ski Lifts. “The combination of natural snowfall and our upgraded snowmaking on Drovers Dream has allowed us to open key lifts earlier than expected.”

Thredbo (30/55cm / 12/22"), Mt Buller (30/35cm / 12/14"), and Corin Forest are also open, and the season is also underway at Tasmania’s Ben Lomond. The country’s last major centres, Charlotte Pass and Selwyn Resort, are scheduled to open this coming weekend.

AUSTRALIA FORECAST

It is mostly sunny for skiers in the forecast for the coming week, with temperatures in the -6 to +6°C range, which should mean that overnight snowmaking can counter most afternoon thawing. Light snow showers may bubble up but currently look unlikely to deliver more than a few centimetres of snowfall.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

New Zealand’s season proper got underway at the weekend with several of the country’s commercial centres opening for the 2025 season. Mt Hutt (75/125cm / 30/50”) was due to open on Friday after failing to do so the previous two weekends as it had hoped, but it was thwarted a third time—this time by avalanche danger on the access road—so it delayed opening 24 hours to Saturday.

That was when Cardrona (60/80cm / 24/32”), Coronet Peak (30/60cm / 12/24”), and The Remarkables (5/15cm / 2/6”) had already planned to open. These weren’t the first in New Zealand this winter, as Whakapapa had already opened its Happy Valley snow play area with all-weather snowmaking a fortnight before, and the Stratford Ski Club's Manganui club field opened last weekend with natural snowfall before closing again due to rain.

But the centres that have opened (hopefully) mark the start of centres staying open daily. Coronet Peak described its early-season conditions as “mint,” with its Coronet Express, Meadows Express, and the Carpets running. The Remarkables had Curvey, Alta, and the conveyors open for its 40th season, starting with a rail setup in the learners’ area. Cardrona opened with its McDougall’s Chondola and Learner Conveyors spinning, providing access to McDougall’s trail and the Beginners’ Area, and a few features at McPark.

Whakapapa has also extended its Happy Valley usage to include beginner ski facilities ahead of the main area opening.

“It’s incredible to kick off the 2025 season and see so many happy people out there having fun this morning,” says Cardrona and Treble Cone Chief Mountains Officer, Laura Hedley, who added, “To have so much terrain open with mostly man-made snow is a testament to our Terrain and Snow team who have put in weeks of hard work to get us here.”

Since the weekend snow, sleet, and rain subsided, New Zealand ski areas have seen clear skies and plenty of sunshine, but with temperatures staying low. More ski areas are set to open this weekend, including Porters Alpine Resort.

NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

The next few days look set to bring another healthy snowfall to New Zealand’s ski slopes with 20–40cm (8–16") accumulations forecast ahead of the weekend, when sunshine is expected to return. Highs close to freezing, lows around -6°C.

ARGENTINA REPORT

Argentina’s 2025 ski season is set to get started later this week, with Cerro Bayo saying they’ll open for skiing this Thursday, June 19, and Chapelco on Friday, June 20. Cerro Bayo and South America’s largest ski area by uplift, Catedral Alta Patagonia near Bariloche, have already opened for their winter seasons, as has the world’s southernmost area, Cerro Castor—they just hadn’t opened for skiing yet due to too little pre-season snowfall.

That’s been changing this week, though, with big snowfalls reported—typically 50–70cm (20–28”) three-day snowfall totals from Saturday to Monday/Tuesday—along with some nice low temperatures. Catedral, and another of the continent’s big players, Las Leñas to the south, are yet to confirm opening dates for skiing at the time of writing.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

Another front is expected to bring significant snowfall from Friday, just as the season gets started, with potentially 1–3 feet (30–60cm) of snowfall over the weekend, and temperatures in the freezing to -8°C range.

CHILE REPORT

A few hours after we published last week’s snow report—at which point no South American ski areas had announced an opening date—Valle Nevado (40/90cm / 16/36”) announced they would be opening on Friday 13th, albeit with limited terrain. The news came as temperatures dropped and snow started falling in the Andes again after a few weeks of mostly dry, often warm weather.

“With significant early snowfall, we’re excited to launch another winter season ahead of schedule,” said Ricardo Margulis, the resort’s General Manager.

They opened with about 13km (8 miles) of terrain and had clocked up two feet (60cm) of snowfall within 36 hours of opening, exceeding the May/June total pre-season snowfall up to that point. That snowfall, though, kept dumping across Chile from Thursday through Monday, with several areas reporting the best part of a metre (40”) accumulating by the start of this week—some even more—a real game-changer for the season start.

El Colorado, linked to Valle Nevado on the Chilean Tres Valles (3 Valleys), has announced it will start its 2025 season on Thursday, whilst Portillo has long planned to open from this coming Saturday, the 21st. Other confirmed opening dates are Corralco—also going for Thursday, June 19—and La Parva and Nevados de Chillán on Friday, June 20. The latter posted it had received four feet (1.2m) of snowfall by Saturday morning.

CHILE FORECAST

It’s looking chilly but mostly sunny in the northern Chilean Andes, with some centres seeing highs of -2°C and lows of -10°C. A front will bring snowfall again further south, with half a metre (20”) or potentially more forecast for more southerly centres like Nevados de Chillán again.

LESOTHO REPORT

After the excitement of the big snowstorm a week ago, things have been a little calmer this week in Lesotho’s Maloti Mountains, with the return of mostly dry, sunny weather. It’s been cold, though, with overnight lows down as far as -11°C—good news for snowmakers. As we published last week’s report, the pass access to Afriski (10/30cm / 4/12”) was closed, but it’s now reopened and it’s believed the area has a slope several hundred metres (500 feet+) long.

LESOTHO FORECAST

The current dry and mostly sunny weather is expected to continue at least through the weekend, with temperatures mostly in the -7 to +5°C range.