Research by J2Ski.com has found that more than 50 of the world's leading ski areas plan to stay open in to May. There are likely to be many other smaller ski areas doing likewise.
Skiing and boarding will continue to be possible at resorts in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland as well as Canada and the USA.
In addition Sierra Nevada in Spain and Glencoe and Nevis Range in Scotland (pictured top) say they'll be open in to May too.
However, with the exception of Scottish areas, few resorts in Europe seem to be extending their seasons due to the historically deep snowpacks they still have following the huge winter snow storms earlier this year.
Among ski areas you might not expect to open in to May, Kitzbuhel (open to May 6th), is proving its point having opened 7 months earlier in early October thanks to snow-farming techniques that it can stay open for snowsports despite the threat of climate change to its rather low-lying ski area.
Although more than 50 resorts will make it to May, about a quarter of these will close on May 1st and a further quarter a week later by the 7th – about a month before ski areas in the southern hemisphere expect to start opening for their 2018 winter ski season.
Around a quarter more of the ski areas in Europe and North America still open after 6th May will close through the month, leaving about a dozen left still open in to June – mostly Alpine and Scandinavian glaciers and a few ski areas with deep snow packs in Western North America.