Last call for the Kitzsteinhorn, Austria, season ending on the 25th May
Northern hemisphere winds down whilst the southern hemisphere prepares for winter. Heavy May snowfall on Alpine glaciers and Scandinavian areas, North America almost done, with New Zealand expecting limited openings by the end of next week.
The Snow Headlines - May 21st
- Heavy snowfall on glaciers in the Alps, and down to quite low elevations.
- Canada's 25–26 season ends, but one resort plans to reopen for summer skiing next month.
- Second Norwegian glacier ski area opens for season.
- Last area in Rockies closes for season (usually open into June).
- Fresh snowfall on high slopes in Scotland, tourers there ski fresh powder in May.
Snow forecast for closing ski areas.
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World Overview
The final half of May is one of the quietest points in the global ski calendar, with the northern hemisphere winding down to a handful of late-spring holdouts and the southern hemisphere still waiting for winter to begin. That pattern is firmly in place in 2026.
Most of the North American areas that were still operating closed over Sunday and Monday, including the last remaining centres in Canada. In the US, closures continue, with just four centres remaining open across the East, Midwest and West.
Europe has a few more options and there was heavy snowfall in The Alps this past week. The continent is down to seven open areas, with two more Alpine glaciers due to finish their seasons this weekend. A colder-than-usual spell has brought mid-May snowfall to around 1,000 m/3,281 feet in parts of the Alps, while northern Scandinavia has stayed wintry.
Japan's Gassan continues to offer spring skiing, while Shiga Kogen wrapped up on Tuesday.
Attention now shifts south, where New Zealand's ski areas expect to begin limited openings at the end of next week, probably relying on all-weather snowmaking as planned.
Europe
The Alps
Heavy snowfall and strong winds caused widespread disruption across the Alps last weekend, preventing many areas from launching their summer hiking and biking programmes and forcing several of the seven operating glacier ski areas into temporary closures.
Austria had five centres open last weekend, though both Stubai and Kaunertal wrapped up their seasons on Sunday after reporting up to 61 cm/2 feet of new snow respectively. Of the three Austrian areas still open, Hintertux recorded around 50 cm/20 inches of fresh snowfall, while Kitzsteinhorn, closing this weekend, logged 46 cm/18 inches. Sunshine returned on Sunday before lighter cm top-ups arrived on Monday. The Mölltal Glacier also remains open but was weather-affected last weekend.
Beyond Austria, France's Les 2 Alpes is currently posting the deepest cover in Europe, with more than 1 m/3 feet of May snowfall and a base exceeding 3.5 m/11 feet. The Zermatt–Cervinia Matterhorn Glacier Paradise continues to offer around 35 km/22 miles of terrain, while Italy's Passo Stelvio is preparing to open its 2026 summer season in just over a week.
The forecast is for a shift to warmer, more stable weather. Freezing levels will probably rise to 3,200–3,800 m/10,499–12,467 feet, with no significant new snowfall forecast. High-alpine temperatures of –2 to +6 °C/28 to 43 °F and only light overnight refreezes will push all remaining glacier terrain firmly into classic late-spring conditions, with softening by late morning.
Scandinavia
Only two ski areas remain open in Scandinavia, with Norway's Stryn glacier expected to join them this weekend. Sweden's Riksgränsen has around half its terrain available and shifts to a Friday–Sunday schedule through late June, offering one weekly session of midnight-sun skiing.
Overnight temperatures still dip to freezing, daytime highs reach about +10 °C/50 °F, and recent showers have mostly fallen as rain.
Norway's Galdhøpiggen glacier continues to offer the region's coldest conditions, with –5 to +4 °C/23 to 39 °F and light snowfall on higher slopes. Forecasts indicate a cool, unsettled Arctic pattern will persist through the weekend. Riksgränsen sees –2 to +3 °C/28 to 37 °F with mixed snow-rain showers; Stryn trends 0 to +4 °C/32 to 39 °F with overnight snow; and Galdhøpiggen stays coldest at –6 to –2 °C/21 to 28 °F before softening into spring conditions later in the day.
North America
Only four ski areas remain open in the Western US, all now on the Pacific Coast after the Rockies' final holdout closed at the weekend.
A burst of wintry weather brought snow and high winds, briefly shutting operations at Oregon's Timberline, which still logged 20 cm/8 inches of new snow.
In California, Mammoth Mountain will be the state's last ski area open next week as Palisades Tahoe will wrap up its season on Sunday. Mammoth has extended operations through at least 31st May, citing strong upper-mountain coverage. Elsewhere, the Beartooth Basin summer ski area in Wyoming aims to launch its summer season this weekend.
In the East, Vermont's Killington is the final area still spinning lifts. Its Superstar run has endured temperatures climbing into the 21–27 °C/70–82 °F range, leaving a mile/1.6 km of soft, bumpy spring terrain. In the Midwest, Michigan's Boyne Mountain continues weekend operations on its Victor run and should hit its latest closing on record if it makes it to this weekend.
Canada's season ended at the weekend, with Whistler, Sunshine Village and Sommet Saint-Sauveur all closing after fresh snow. Sunshine, which reached a 10.2 m/33 feet seasonal total, plans a two-week summer opening in late June and early July.
Southern Hemisphere
Winter is fast approaching in the southern hemisphere but nowhere is really reporting any huge snowfalls as yet. It's mostly light dustings on higher slopes, although recent days have seen increasingly sub-zero overnight lows in the Andes, New Zealand and Lesotho that make conventional snowmaking just about possible.
The first small areas of snow are expected to open at the end of next week in New Zealand thanks to all-weather snowmaking, with the first 'proper' full runs open (those initial areas are likely to be short nursery slopes and snow play areas) a week later in Australia, the first full weekend of June.