Banff Sunshine Village, Canada, now open!
This week saw early ski season openings in Canada and Switzerland, with Banff Sunshine achieving its earliest ever opening. Fresh snowfall across North America and Europe has improved conditions, with multiple resorts gearing up for the season.
The Snow Headlines - November 6th
- Canada's season starts earlier than expected with Banff Sunshine's earliest ever opening.
- Verbier's season underway, four weeks earlier than planned.
- Up to 40 cm/16 inches of snowfall reported in North America's Pacific Northwest.
- Switzerland and Austria both have seven ski areas open.
- Italy stays at three areas open as one closes but another opens.
- Davos and Kitzbuhel starting their 25/26 ski seasons this Friday.
Snow in the forecast.
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World Overview
The end of October and start of November brought a decent dump of fresh snow to the Alps, boosting conditions and terrain at glacier resorts. It has been milder over the past few days, however, with snowlines climbing again.
Switzerland now matches Austria with seven centres open; Italy has three. Last weekend, Verbier surprised many by opening terrain nearly a month early.
Elsewhere, Northern Europe saw snowfall across Scandinavia, Scottish peaks, and also a record accumulation for this point in autumn in Iceland, though not enough for ski areas to open.
In North America, two ski areas posted record-early openings: Winter Park in Colorado and Sunshine near Banff in Canada, the latter launching Canada's season ahead of schedule. Heavy snow hit the Northwest, while the Northeast experienced its strongest snowfall of the autumn so far, with low temperatures prompting widespread snowmaking.
Europe
Austria
It has been a strong week for Austrian glacier resorts, with fresh snowfall, blue skies, and expanding terrain. Solden continues to lead globally in terms of terrain already skiable, with 34 km/21 miles of runs open, followed by Stubai at 32 km/20 miles, which added more runs this week including Windachfern South and Gamsgarten. Hintertux offers 27 km/17 miles, placing it in the world's top five.
Mölltal's Panorama lift now serves scenic Piste 8, while Piste 3 remains in top condition.
Kitzsteinhorn, Kaunertal, and Pitztal round out the seven open glaciers.
Kitzbühel plans to open this weekend using snow-farmed cover, with fresh snow reported at higher elevations. Conditions will be cold and mostly dry, with light flurries possible above 1800 m/5906 feet. Mountain temperatures will range from -3°C to 5°C/27°F to 41°F, while base areas may reach 15°C/59°F. Visibility remains good, and snowpack is firm at altitude.
France
French ski slopes, particularly those above about 2,000 m/6562 feet, are in great shape according to social media pictures, with reports of 50 cm/20 inches to 80 cm/31 inches accumulations over the past few weeks at ski areas like Tignes, Val d'Isere, and Val Thorens.
No resort has announced an earlier opening than expected as yet, with the first resorts (Tignes and Val Thorens) expected to start the French 25/26 season in just over a fortnight on the 22nd.
Italy
A new Italian option for 25/26, Sulden am Ortler, opened at the weekend after late October snowfall, launching with 45% of its slopes—20 of 44 km/27 miles—despite thin cover. It joins Cervinia, accessing glacier terrain above Zermatt, and Val Senales to keep the number of areas open in Italy at three. The previous third option, the Passo Stelvio's summer ski area, ended this weekend.
The Italian Alps and Dolomites were cold and mostly dry midweek, with light snow above 1800 m/5906 feet. Dolomite temperatures range from -2°C to 5°C/28°F to 41°F; the Alps will be milder, reaching 13°C/55°F in valleys in the afternoons. In contrast, resorts like Livigno, Passo Tonale, and Cortina may see up to 7 cm/3 inches of fresh snow on their higher slopes over the next few days.
Switzerland
The main news from Switzerland this week was that Verbier opened four weeks early after a 40 cm/16 inches snowfall. It wasn't the only one to open last weekend, as Murren also launched its season using snow-farmed cover to create a run beside its Schilthorn terrain park. Adelboden has also opened 1 km/0.6 miles of slopes on TschentenAlp.
These join four other Swiss areas already open, most reporting fresh snow and expanding terrain this week.
Zermatt's snow depth rose 30 cm/12 inches—its first increase in six months—and it now offers 27 km/17 miles of runs. Saas-Fee's base has climbed 50 cm/20 inches over two weeks, with 13 km/8 miles open. Engelberg's base is also up, and Diavolezza Glacier near St Moritz remains open on weekends.
After recent snowfalls, the forecast is dry with highs of 13°C/55°F in valleys and lows near 1°C/34°F. A brief snow shower on high slopes may pass through on Friday, but Saturday looks dry again. Davos has announced it will open some terrain a week early, starting this Friday, the 8th.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia's ski season inches forward with four areas open, each offering limited terrain on snow-farmed or artificial cover.
Sweden's Kåbdalis is the coldest, dropping to -6°C/21°F with heavy snow forecast. Norway's Galdhøpiggen remains sub-zero as its long summer season ends. Finland's Levi and Ruka report 3.1 km/1.9 miles of pistes open, with light winds and patchy snowfall.
Temperatures range from -3°C/27°F in Norway to 3°C/37°F in Finland. More snow is expected across the region this week, with moderate winds and fair visibility between flurries—promising signs for early-season conditions.
North America
Canada
We had expected to report on Canada's 2025–26 ski season starting this weekend, with Lake Louise expected to be the first to open, but instead, it has launched early, with Sunshine Village opening last Sunday, November 2nd, less than 24 hours after it announced it would be doing so, believed to be its earliest start on record.
Originally slated for November 8th, Sunshine beat neighbouring Lake Louise to first chair thanks to consistent October snowfall (and another 20 cm/8 inches in the 24 hours leading up to opening) and sub-zero temperatures. The resort opened the Strawberry Express lift, serving seven beginner and intermediate runs plus a terrain park with seven features.
Lake Louise, which had planned to open on Friday 7th, brought forward its opening to Tuesday 4th, earlier this week.
Other Alberta resorts, including Nakiska, Norquay, and Marmot Basin, are expected to follow soon. In British Columbia, Whistler Blackcomb has seen major snow accumulation, with up to 34 cm/13 inches forecast this week. East Coast resorts like Tremblant and Sommet St Sauveur are also experiencing early flurries and ramping up snowmaking.
USA
Western North America saw further strong early snowfall last week, with accumulations of up to 40 cm/16 inches reported in the region. Alyeska in Alaska received up to 37 cm/15 inches, and more snow is still falling there.
Conditions have since turned warmer and drier, especially in the Rockies, though Winter Park still opened on Halloween, marking its earliest ever opening in more than eight decades of operations, making it Colorado's third resort after Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Keystone now offers a 3.2 km/2 miles top-to-bottom run.
Breckenridge, Copper, and Wolf Creek are set to open next, along with resorts in Utah and on the West Coast.
The East and Midwest are also now turning wintry, with snowmaking underway and Michigan reporting its first snowfall. Looking ahead, up to 25 cm/10 inches is forecast for Washington, Oregon, and Wyoming, with 2 cm to 10 cm/0.8 inches to 4 inches possible on the East Coast. Central and eastern areas remain mostly dry, but colder air is building.