Mt Hutt Leads NZ with Deepest Base and 90% Terrain Now Open

• Chile First to 100% Open – Tres Valles Boasts 110+ km of Slopes
• Thredbo Hits 1m Base in June – Aussie Powder Delights Locals
• Mt Hutt Leads NZ with Deepest Base and 90% Terrain Now Open
• Cerro Castor Defies Dry Spell – Opens with Deepest Snow in Argentina
• More Snow Incoming: Weekend Storms Target Chile South, Australia, and NZ

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE INTRO

All of the leading ski areas in Australia, Chile, and New Zealand have now opened for their 2025 seasons, but Argentina has had a poor start to the winter with too little snow for most centres to open much terrain. The country’s largest resort, Catedral near Bariloche, which also boasts the most uplift in the Southern Hemisphere, did open in the final days of June but has little terrain available yet. Despite the dry weather, it has been very cold, though, with reports noting the country is currently the coldest on Earth. Things look particularly good across the Andes in Chile, where the first resorts have reached 100% of their slopes now open for the winter. The huge Tres Valles area near Santiago has more than 110 km (70 miles) of runs open already. It's looking good in Australia, too, where the first resorts have reported reaching a healthy 1-metre base depth after 30–40 cm of fresh snowfall there this week. It’s a mixed picture in New Zealand where the last of the big-name resorts, including Treble Cone, opened at the weekend. Mt Hutt is posting the Southern Hemisphere’s deepest base and is nearly fully open, but many other areas have so far only been able to open a fraction of their terrain.

AUSTRALIA REPORT

Snowfall totals from last week’s multi-day storm, that was still ongoing as we published last week’s report, passed 40 cm by Thursday and took several Australian resorts close to the magic 1 m base depth level. “Powder conditions yesterday were the best of the season so far, and some locals say the best they have ever seen,” said Alex Pankiw, Hotham (45/70 cm / 18/28”) Marketing Coordinator, who added, “The conditions are epic for the early season – it's just in time for the school holidays. The sun is shining, there’s heaps of snow, and we’re loving it right now at Hotham.” In fact, Thredbo (55/103 cm / 22/41”) was posting 1 m+ by the weekend – quite a rare achievement for this early in the season – it was still June then. It now has more than half of its runs open, whilst Hotham and Falls Creek (50/75 cm / 20/30”) are posting 60%+. After the snowfall at the end of last week, there has been, as Alex Pankiw said, lots of sunshine on Aussie slopes, with temperatures largely in the -6 to +6°C range.

AUSTRALIA FORECAST

The good snow start to the season is expected to continue with 10–20 cm (4–8”) of snowfall over the next 48 hours. Drier conditions are then forecast to end the week before more snowfall at the weekend.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

A mixed bag of weather this week in New Zealand, with Treble Cone deciding to postpone the start of its season on Friday as a warm front moved through, but then posting a 25 cm (10") fresh snow accumulation through the day when it did open on Saturday. "It's been the most incredible morning in the snow, seeing locals and visitors alike get amongst it for TC's Opening Day," commented Laura Hedley, Chief Mountains Officer for Cardrona and Treble Cone, adding, "After this week's warm front passed through Te Wai Pounamu, it was great to get a decent dump of snow and score some fresh turns for the first day of the season here." Other NZ areas posted similar falls over the same period, with Cardrona getting 29 cm (11"). Mt Hutt (100/145 cm / 40/58") continues to lead the way, with now 90% of its terrain open, as well as the country's deepest snow depth. Ōhau Snow Fields reports a base of 80 cm (32”) at the top of their chair and great conditions with “some epic skiing and snowboarding!” Most commercial areas are at 10–40% open so far. Mt Dobson was closed on Sunday, though, as rime ice iced up the lifts. It’s school holiday time for the next fortnight, though, so centres will be opening more terrain as fast as they can. Since the weekend, it has been predominantly sunny and dry but cold, with overnight lows down as far as -10°C reported. All of the country’s commercial centres and most club fields have now opened.

NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

Light to moderate snowfall is forecast for the South Island over the next 48 hours (corrected from "438") with 10–20 cm (4–8”) accumulations expected. The North Island will see a more prolonged spell of snowy weather lasting to the weekend but also some rain to high levels at times (corrected from "time"). Typically, temperatures will be in the -3 to +5°C range. It’s expected to be drier and sunnier for all at the start of next week.

ARGENTINA REPORT

Argentina’s ski areas have seen more snowfall this week, including some very heavy snowfall down in the far south, but unfortunately, the season has still not really got going. However, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest ski area, Catedral (5/15 cm / 2/6”) near Bariloche, which had delayed opening, has now done so, but with only a kilometre or so of slopes available with the difficult weather conditions. It's very different to a year ago, when most centres had opened by the end of May after huge early snowfalls. The country's second-largest centre, Las Leñas (20/20 cm / 8/8") has opened but only appears to have a thin base and a kilometre or so of runs open so far. The world's most southerly ski area, Cerro Castor (70/90 cm / 28/36"), opened with over 50 cm (20") of snowfall ahead of last weekend and reported about 25% of its slopes available from day one, so that's currently got the most terrain available and the deepest reported snow depth in the country.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

It’s set to continue to be predominantly dry and sunny for much of the country through the rest of the week and weekend, although there will be snowfall in the far south impacting resorts like Cerro Castor. Early forecasts suggest a major storm bringing 30–60 cm (12–24”) of snowfall at the start of next week.

CHILE REPORT

Chile’s 2025 season is picking up pace with the first Southern Hemisphere ski areas to post that their slopes are now 100% open. In fact, the three linked areas of the Tres Valles area inland from the capital Santiago – Valle Nevado (35/125 cm / 14/50"), El Colorado (30/125 cm / 12/50"), and La Parva (35/125 cm / 14/50") – now have over 110 km (70 miles) of runs open between them. That's by far the most in the world of any ski area right now. Other centres have most of their slopes open and decent snow depths too, with Portillo (65/135 cm / 32/44”) at 75% open and Nevados de Chillán (50/120 cm / 20/48”) at 86%. Almost all the country’s centres have opened, with Antillanca ski centre among the latest to open for its 2025 season at the weekend. After some good snowfalls at the end of last week, it's been mostly sunny conditions across the country with some glorious conditions on the slopes and just occasional light snowfalls. Temperatures have been in the -8 to +5°C range, with the freezing point mostly between 2,000 and 3,000 m altitudes.

CHILE FORECAST

It should remain mostly cold and sunny for the remainder of this week, but a significant front moving in on Friday/Saturday could bring more than a foot (30 cm) of snowfall in an intense weather pulse. That will, however, predominantly impact southerly ski areas, if the current expected storm trajectory remains – less so resorts in the north.

LESOTHO REPORT

Afriski’s webcam is working again and it’s possible to see now that the main run, which is about a kilometre long, is complete and looks to be in good shape. It’s been a mostly sunny week – the default weather in the region – with temperatures ranging from -6 to +8°C most days.

LESOTHO FORECAST

Sunshine continues for the next day or two, but a snow-bearing front with lower temperatures is expected to move through from the end of the week, potentially bringing 10–20 cm (4–8”) of natural snowfall to build on the machine-made base.