Welcome to our global snow round-up for September; August brought fresh snow both North and South of the equator, holding out promise of the season to come for the North and giving good conditions for the last few weeks of winter 2016 in the South.
Cerro Catedral this week - photo courtesy of Catedral Alta Patagonia
This Month's Snow Headlines
- Ski season winding down in Southern Hemisphere.
- Austrian winter 2016-17 kicks off this month with eight glacier areas planned to open by October 1st.
- Chilean resort has deepest fresh snow base in the world at present at 2.8m.
- All French resorts closed in September.
- Stubai glacier to unveil new gondola access lifts on 30th September.
September is always a month of change in the seasons on each side of the world. In the Northern Hemisphere the Summer ski areas have closed, or are about to, and the first Autumn openings for the coming winter on the high glaciers in the Alps begin. In the Southern Hemisphere, the ski areas in Africa then Australia and South America close and by the end of September there are similar numbers of ski areas open in either hemisphere; perhaps a dozen or so in each.
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NORTHERN HEMISPHERE (for South, please see below)
The Alps
Austria
September is usually a big month in Austrian skiing as all of the country's glacier ski areas open, most by mid-month, meaning there's a choice of eight operational by the start of October. That can often be more than in the rest of the northern hemisphere's ski nations put together. The exact opening weekend will depend on conditions but the target weekend for most is 17/18th September; only Stubai is planning to be a bit later than usual this year – September 30th – as it is battling to complete new access lifts to the glacier ski area being built at a cost of tens of millions of Euros. Two Austrian areas are already open as we enter September though. Hintertux (Open all year) reports a metre base up top and the Molltal glacier 1,4m, both had some fresh snow in August to freshen things up. Due to join them this month are the Dachstein, Pitztal, Kitzsteinhorn, Solden and Kaunertal glaciers.
France
With Les 2 Alpes and Tignes finishing their summer ski seasons at the end of August there are currently no ski areas open in France. Tignes will re-open on October 1st.
Italy
It's all change on Italian slopes with Cervinia, which has been open all summer, about to enjoy its final weekend. It will re-open in mid-October. However the former summer ski area that no longer opens in summer, Val Senales, has announced it does plan to open for its eight month season that very same weekend- conditions permitting – so for 36 hours there'll be three Italian glaciers open simultaneously. Otherwise the second Italian September snowsports choice is the same as the second August choice, Passo Stelvio is still open.
Switzerland
Two ski areas have been open in Switzerland simce July and two will remain open through September before being joined in mid-October by four other glacier destinations. They are Saas Fee and neighbour Zermatt, with Europe's highest slopes. Both report reasonably good summer skiing conditions between 7am and 1pm daily, bases on the glacier ice at around the metre mark as we enter September.
Scandinavia
The Stryn glacier has closed and the Galdhoppigen glacier – currently claiming the deepest snow base in the world at 5m, is due to close the first Sunday of September but Norway's third glacier area, Fonna, should be open all month. It had 10cm of fresh snow in August leading to summer powder snowsports so is in good shape too with a 2m base. For novelty value another Norwegian resort Geilo will open a slope covered with snow stockpiled from last season for snowsports fun in October from 30th September. It worked well last year!
North America
There's just the Timberline snow field on Mt Hood in Oregon open in North America at present until the annual battle to be first to open in October. Timberline has racing lanes for team training and a terrain park for fun realty. It usually closes too for a few weeks annual maintenance in late September as it's otherwise open year round.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Australia
September normally marks the end of the season at most Aussie ski areas with the majority of centres calling it a day on one of the last few weekends of the month, although Perisher normally soldiers on to the first week of October. Things are looking pretty good there as we enter September, almost all centres have had a little fresh snow in the last week of August and most have depths of at least a metre which should see them through to the last day. The deepest bases at 1.5m/5 feet are at Thredbo, Perisher and Charlotte Pass.
New Zealand
There have been extremes of weather in New Zealand again through August but mostly the country finally settled down to a snowy winter after a mixed June and July. Bases are generally good to very good and it was snowing again in the last few days of August. Almost all areas have at least a metre base and Turoa and Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu on the north Island which are sometimes open to 'Snowvember" and have been opened for snowsports at Christmas some years (the northern hemisphere's equivalent of mid-summer) have more than a 2m base. Pretty well all Kiwi areas expect to stay open through September before ending their seasons in most cases in October.
Argentina
It has been a mixed winter and overall not one to remember in Argentina, but for the final few weeks the country's main resorts should enjoy reasonable conditions. Bases are in the 70 – 160cm bracket (the deepest in Las Lenas) and it was snowing everywhere in the last week of August. To recap, some Argentinian areas opened early in June due to good pre-season snowfalls but then warm weather in July forced others to close again for lack of snow, before some big snowfalls brought the cover back.
Chile
Chile too will be winding down its ski season in September, it's had a similar one to Argentina but with perhaps less extreme fluctuations – although there was the 10 foot snowfall in Portillo and that volcano did erupt at Termas de Chillan so perhaps it was similar. Valle Nevado currently has the deepest snow in the southern hemisphere approaching 3m/10 feet on upper runs. Again all areas have had some fresh snow in the last few days of August.
Southern Africa
There was more fresh snow last month but both Tiffindell in South Africa and Afriski in Lesotho wound up the Southern African 2016 season at the end of August.
Until next month...