Southern Hemisphere Weekly Snow Roundup #336

• Number of centres still open for 2026 season drops to single figures.
• More Chilean ski areas extend their seasons.
• Portillo ends 2026 season after two-week extension and clocking up 12m+ season snowfall total.

Southern Hemisphere Introduction

We are into the death throes of the southern hemisphere's 2026 season, but with Chile's Valle Nevado announcing an unprecedented four-week extension of its season to 8^th November, this is going to go on longer than usual!  All areas are now closed in Argentina, (the last, Catedral, closed Monday) Australia and Lesotho, but several resorts are still going as planned in New Zealand, and several others besides Valle Nevado have announced season extensions in Chile, if not as yet right now in November. The snow has kept falling in the Andes, with Valle Nevado reported to have clocked up 1.4m (nearly five feet) in the 7 days up to the weekend. More big-name resorts, including Portillo, have ended their seasons though.

New Zealand Report

New Zealand’s season is coming to an end after a week that has seen sunny days alongside rain, sleet and snow showers. Daytime highs climbed to +15C at resort base levels but overnights they’ve continued to drop as low as -5C on high terrain. Mt Hutt, which had been posting the deepest snow in the country, ended its 2026 season on Sunday (with dof themed celebrations pictured above), leaving the country's largest area, Cardrona (35/80cm / 14/32"), the only resort still open on the South Island, with just over half of its slopes still open. It had extended its2026 season by a week to this coming Sunday. As usual, North Island resorts Turoa (0/100cm / 0/40") and Whakapapa (50/60cm / 20/24") on Mt Ruapehu are likely to be the last survivors. Both are down to only 10/15% of their slopes still open, though.

New Zealand Forecast

A mixed spring pattern continues across New Zealand’s open ski areas. Cardrona stays mostly dry and bright early in the week, with freezing levels high and only brief light precipitation later. Whakapapa sees frequent rain or snow showers through Thursday, turning colder with snow reaching resort level before clearer, milder weather returns from Sunday. Turoa has similar timing, with rain giving way to several periods of new snow, especially mid‑week, before conditions gradually settle.

Chile Report

If we were still going by the original plan, Chile’s season would be over by now, but three resorts have extended their seasons, and in Valle Nevado's (90/180cm / 36/76”) case they’ve extended it twice, so with their season now set to run to the 8th November, it will most likely be the last centre open in the southern hemisphere this winter.  The other two resorts with extended seasons, El Colorado (50/130cm / 20/52”) and La Parva (20/60cm / 8/24”), have so far only extended to this coming weekend, so it may be just Valle Nevado next week, unless there are further extensions. El Colorado currently has the most terrain open in the world, still close to 100% open with more than 50km (31 miles) of runs skiable; Valle Nevado has dropped to 70%, La Parva 50%. The three resorts are all linked in the 3 Valleys of the Andes, so they still offer bout 100km (63 miles) of runs between them.  It's stayed cold this past week, temperatures in the -10 to 5C range, with plenty of sunshine but light to moderate snowfall bubbling up through the day, usually 5- 15 cm (2-6”).

Chile Forecast

Chile’s central Andes ski areas face a mixed, unsettled stretch. Valle Nevado sees frequent snow chances, with several days showing 0- 5 cm (0.8–2") potential and colder periods dropping temperatures well below freezing on high terrain overnight. El Colorado has alternating clear spells and snow showers, including episodes with 10- 20 cm (4–8") indicated in short‑range forecasts. La Parva also trends snowy, with multiple days showing measurable accumulations and freezing levels fluctuating between roughly 2,200–2,800 m. Winds strengthen at times, especially late‑week, but terrain remains widely accessible.