Keystone, Colorado, USA, narrowly beat A-Basin to first opening...
This week saw significant snowfall across the Alps, with Verbier announcing weekend openings four weeks ahead of schedule. North America has also commenced its ski season, with Keystone leading the way.
The Snow Headlines - October 30th
- Multiple fronts bring decent dumps to the Alps.
· Verbier to open 4 weeks early, this weekend.
· North American ski season underway as Keystone beats Arapahoe Basin to open first.
· More than 20 ski areas now open in Europe and North America.
· Southern hemisphere's 2025 season over, but fresh snowfall in Andes and New Zealand.
· 25-26 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Tour gets started ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics.
· Japan's 25-26 season underway.
· Snow in the Cairngorms.
Snow in the forecast.
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World Overview
Snowstorms swept across the Alps over the weekend, delivering the first major accumulations of the season, with up to 40 cm/16 inches reported on high terrain in France alone.
With no ski areas open in France yet, it was glacier areas in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland that offered powder conditions and expanded terrain, while resorts not yet open focused on base building. Solden had to clear and pack fresh snow to run the opening races of the 25-26 Alpine Skiing World Cup tour.
Perhaps the biggest news, this week, is that Verbier has decided to open (four weeks early) from this Saturday.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Carpathians, Tatras, and Dolomites saw fresh snow, and Scandinavian resorts remained below freezing with light accumulations. Even Scotland's Grampians received a dusting.
The 25-26 season has begun in North America, with Colorado's Keystone opening first, closely followed by Arapahoe Basin on Sunday. Western Canada remains cold and snowy, with its season expected to begin in just over a week.
In Japan, the season has started—kind of—with the little Yeti ski area, which uses all-weather snowmaking to open a kilometre long gentle run beneath Mount Fuji, kicking off its 25-26 season. There have also been the first natural snowfalls dusting high slopes south of Hokkaido at destinations like the Hakuba Valley.
The last centres still operating in the southern hemisphere, on New Zealand's North Island on Mount Ruapehu, have closed for the 2025 season. In the end, only Whakapapa reopened for a final day last Saturday, after a spell of warm weather caused damage to the snowpack, leading its neighbour Turoa to announce the season over without reopening. Ironically, after they closed, some late spring snowfall was reported in New Zealand, as well as in the Andes, and Whakapapa says its gondola can be used again by ski tourers to access unpatrolled terrain from this weekend.
Northern Hemisphere
Austria
Austria continues to lead the world for the number of open ski areas, with seven glaciers running and fresh snowfall this week boosting conditions. Up to 40 cm/16 inches accumulations above 2000 m/6562 feet have been reported.
Solden stole the spotlight, hosting the FIS World Cup opener and becoming the first ski resort in the northern hemisphere to reach 30 km/18.6 miles of open slopes. Hintertux (27 km/16.8 miles), Stubai (16 km/9.9 miles), and Kitzsteinhorn (13 km/8.1 miles) all expanded terrain after 20 cm/8 inches snowfalls, while Kaunertal, Molltal, and Pitztal are each currently offering up to 10 km/6.2 miles.
More snow is forecast, especially above 2000 m/6562 feet, with temperatures staying well below freezing overnight above 1800 m/5906 feet—ideal for snowmaking.
France
French ski areas saw some of the best accumulations from the weekend storms, with 20-40 cm/8-16 inches totals above about 2500 m/8202 feet.
No ski areas are open here yet, with the season due to kick off in three weeks at Tignes and Val Thorens.
Italy
Four Italian ski areas will be open this weekend, with Sulden joining Val Senales, Passo Stelvio, and Cervinia after fresh snowfall.
Stelvio saw a notable snow depth boost, while Cervinia briefly lost access to glacier skiing above Zermatt as lifts were closed during the storm but reopened to powder. High peaks received fresh cover, and Cortina d'Ampezzo fired up snowmaking ahead of its planned November start and the 2026 Winter Olympics.
More snowfall is forecast, with highs around 0–6°C/32–43°F and lows to -5°C/23°F. The current snowfall is expected to peak Friday–Saturday, with freezing levels dropping below 1800 m/5906 feet.
Switzerland
Swiss ski areas saw fresh snowfall down to 1500 m/4921 feet, though poor visibility led to temporary closures at Saas-Fee and Zermatt's link to Cervinia.
Engelberg's Titlis and Diavolezza glaciers remain open, with limited terrain; Diavolezza is currently operating at weekends only.
In total, five Swiss areas are currently open, including Murren's terrain park, access to which has to be pre-booked. Murren says it will open a ski run in addition to its terrain park from this weekend, and Verbier announced on Wednesday that it will open four weeks early, from this Saturday, November 1st, after 40 cm/16 inches of snowfall there.
Adelboden and Glacier 3000 are also expected to be among the next to launch soon.
Snowfall above 1800 m/5906 feet continues, with resorts like Zermatt, Verbier, and Engelberg forecast to receive up to 15 cm/6 inches. High-altitude terrain is shaping up well for November, while lower slopes will continue to see mixed conditions. Snowmaking is underway, supporting early piste preparation across the region.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia's four open ski areas - Galdhøpiggen (Norway), Kåbdalis (Sweden), Levi, and Ruka (Finland)—are each offering 1-2 km/0.6-1.2 miles of early-season terrain.
Galdhøpiggen, open since May, has two weeks of its season left as it gets increasingly cold and dark, and saw light snowfall with highs around -3°C/27°F. Kåbdalis, built on farmed snow, recorded lows of -14°C/6.8°F and moderate fresh cover. Levi and Ruka (which also relied on snow farming to open) enjoyed sub-zero temperatures and light snow, with Ruka also experiencing some rain and sleet.
For the coming week, Galdhøpiggen will stay cold with strong winds and up to 4 cm/1.6 inches of snow. Levi remains ideal for snowmaking, and Ruka hovers near freezing with light snow and moderate winds.
North America
As predicted last week, America's ski season officially kicked off last weekend in Colorado, with Keystone edging ahead to become the first resort to open in North America. After a week of mostly below-freezing temperatures at high altitudes and fresh snowfall across the Rockies, anticipation was high. Keystone made its move at 3 pm Saturday, opening Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon trails under floodlights for a three-hour debut. Arapahoe Basin followed with an 8:30 am Sunday start.
Keystone's Opening Day featured over two miles of terrain as well as a hike-to park lit by snowcats. Skiers accessed the slopes via River Run Gondola and Montezuma Express, with downloads available at day's end. Snowmaking continues around the clock, with more terrain to follow as conditions allow.
There was also more snowfall across the west, with the heaviest in the Pacific Northwest corner, where up to two feet/60 cm of snowfall has been reported, tempting early tourers onto the slopes.
There have also been sub-zero temperatures overnight and the first light snowfalls for the East.
Meanwhile, Canada's season start is hopefully just over a week away. Banff's trio—Sunshine, Norquay, and Lake Louise—are likely early openers, alongside Nakiska and Marmot Basin. Whistler-Blackcomb is targeting November 21. Alberta remains mostly dry, favouring snowmaking, while British Columbia expects 6–15 cm/2.4-6 inches of snow this weekend, with freezing levels dropping below 1600 m/5249 feet. Across the continent, winter is settling in—and Colorado's early start has set the tone.