Mammoth, California, 3 feet of snow in April and opening well into May...
Spring conditions across the Northern Hemisphere, with around 300 ski areas still open globally despite rising temperatures. There's been late-season snowfall in California and the Western Alps, Japan's Gassan summer area is opening for the 2026 season, and several resorts including Mammoth Mountain aim to open through to late May.
The Snow Headlines - April 16th
- Japan's Gassan summer ski area opens for 2026, reporting an 8.5 m/28 feet upper depth.
- Fresh weekend snowfall for two Scottish ski centres that are still open.
- The few Californian ski areas that are still open see several feet of snowfall.
- Up to 35 cm/14 inches fresh snowfall in the Western Alps.
- Pre-season snowfall in Australia lets first skiers and riders make turns for 2026.
- High avalanche danger in western and central Alps.
- Mammoth extends season to late May.
Snow forecast for the Alps, America and Japan.
Re-publication :- the J2Ski Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.
World Overview
Spring conditions dominate across Europe, with rising temperatures, long sunny spells and only patchy high-elevation snow showers in the Alps, Scotland and Scandinavia. Freezing levels have been climbing up towards 3,000 m/10,000 feet, accelerating the shift to sleet and rain and prompting more resorts to close for the season.
The warmer, sometimes wet weather has pushed avalanche danger back to Level 4 in parts of the Alps, with saturated snowpacks increasing the risk of spontaneous wet-slab releases on slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
Around 300 ski areas remain open, with the best conditions at altitude in the Alps, Pyrenees, Eastern Europe and the far north. Spain's Sierra Nevada plans to run into May thanks to an exceptionally deep base.
In North America, the season is also winding down: Western Canada continues its freeze–thaw swings, California saw heavy early-week snowfall, the Rockies received some snowfall over the past few days and Eastern regions have largely moved into spring. It is the same story in Japan too, although there were weekend snow showers in Hokkaido to briefly break up the spring conditions with a return to winter.
Europe
Austria
Austria has seen a mix of sunshine and brief showers this week, with snow still appearing on higher slopes but valley temperatures climbing beyond +10 °C/50 °F, bringing sleet or rain lower down.
More than half of the 50 ski areas still running last week wrapped up their 2025–26 seasons on Sunday, leaving fewer than 20 open. St Anton and Lech in The Arlberg are still reporting upper bases of more than 2 m/6.5 feet and around 250 km/155 miles of pistes, the most in the country, but it closes this Sunday meaning Ischgl will return to having the most for the final fortnight as it did back in early December.
Similar weather forecast with freezing levels continuing to rise to 2,400–2,800 m/7,875–9,185 feet.
France
France has also seen its roster of open ski areas halve in a week as the season continues to wind down, now sitting at roughly 20. Several of the world's largest domains remain open, with four planning to run into May.
The past week delivered classic spring variability: freezing levels swinging between 1,000 and 3,000 m/3,280 to 9,840 feet, plenty of sunshine, and a Sunday–Monday front that dropped up to 25 cm/10 inches of wet snow on higher slopes. Bonneval Sur Arc, on the other side of the mountain from Val d'Isère, posted the most new snow.
Upper bases remain strong, deepest in the Pyrenees, with half a dozen Alpine centres still above three metres, topped by Les 2 Alpes at nearly 3.5 m/11 feet.
Italy
Italy is firmly in spring mode, with afternoon valley temperatures climbing to around +20 °C/68 °F and even high elevations rising above freezing. Nights still dip below zero above 2,000 m/6,560 feet. Sunshine has dominated, with light to moderate snow showers brushing higher slopes and rain lower down.
Monterosa posted the biggest accumulations with 15 cm/6 inches on Monday.
Around 20 more Italian resorts closed after last weekend, leaving just over a dozen still operating. La Thuile, holding 230 cm/7.5 feet up top and the country's deepest base, and the Via Lattea will finish on Sunday. Cervinia, Cortina, Livigno and Pila plan to continue into May as freezing levels rise toward 2,200–2,700 m/7,218–8,858 feet.
Switzerland
Switzerland's ski areas have moved through a largely settled spell of spring weather, with a short burst of early-week snowfall refreshing high-elevation pistes with 10–20 cm/4–8 inches of fresh cover above 1,500 m/4,921 feet before conditions turned brighter and milder again. Lower slopes have stayed firmly in spring mode with rain rather than snow.
Around a third of the 30 Swiss areas still operating last weekend wrapped up their seasons on Sunday, including major glacier destinations such as Davos, Villars and Flims-Laax. Roughly 20 areas remain open, led by Zermatt, which still offers close to 90% of its terrain. About half of these will close this weekend.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is usually a great choice for April snow quality, with the bonus of long daylight hours and temperatures that hover near freezing, keeping the snowpack feeling wintry. While spring advances here too, it is a few weeks behind the Alps and around three-quarters of the region's major resorts remain open, most aiming to run until late April or early May. Many still report 80–100% of terrain available, with upper-mountain temperatures staying below zero and bases only edging a few degrees above freezing in the afternoons.
After a bright spell last week, this week has turned unsettled, bringing widespread light snow, heaviest in Norway, and occasional sleet or rain lower down. A milder spell follows, varying sharply by region.
Pyrenees and Spain
Most Pyrenean ski areas wrapped up after Easter, with only three operating into last week. Ordino Arcalís, the final sector of Andorra's Grandvalira, closed at the weekend, ending hopes of season extensions despite historically deep cover earlier in winter.
France's Cauterets, now reporting Europe's and the world's greatest depth at 4.3 m/14 feet stays open through this week, whilst Spain's La Molina/Masella aims for early May.
Europe's most southerly centre, Sierra Nevada, which has a 380 cm/12.5 feet upper base is also targeting 3 May.
Sunshine dominates into the weekend, with freeze–thaw at all elevations and occasional light snow, sleet or rain. Freezing levels fluctuate between 1,600–2,200 m/5,249–7,218 feet.
Scotland
Spring skiing continues at Scotland's two operating centres, though winter made a brief return over the weekend. Glencoe delivered firm upper-mountain turns via the Cliffy and Main Basin, with snow showers on Saturday followed by heavier snowfall and stronger winds on Sunday.
Cairngorm still holds good cover in the Top Bowls and on the White Lady, and the freestyle park remains ready. Key lifts are running at both areas, though Cairngorm's Funicular Touring Passes have been suspended due to limited off-piste snow.
A classic mid-April weather mix, with the best conditions early and higher up.
Eastern Europe
The season is wrapping up quickly now in Eastern Europe, with the last areas that had been open in Bulgaria closing last weekend and most of the remaining open centres across the region expected to finish after the coming weekend.
It is the final days for centres including Zakopane in Poland and Slovakia's Jasná, the region's largest area. The weather has been mostly dry and generally warmer than farther west, with overnight refreezes still dipping below zero at all elevations.
North America
Canada
Western Canada has continued its late-season swing between spring warmth and winter flashbacks. Sunny days have pushed valley temperatures above +10 °C/50 °F, whilst brief cold snaps have dropped alpine peaks to around –10 °C/14 °F with 5–10 cm/2–4 inches of fresh snow reported at the few still open areas some days.
Many resorts have now wrapped up for the year, including Revelstoke, which closed after what appears to be its snowiest season in six years, nearing 12 m/39 feet of snowfall.
Five major centres remain open the rest of this month: Silver Star, Marmot Basin (which posted 22 cm/9 inches of snowfall in the past 48 hours), Sunshine, Lake Louise and Whistler Blackcomb.
In the East, most areas have already closed, with only a few centres like Blue Mountain and Sommet Saint-Sauveur holding on as mild +5 to +20 °C/41 to 68 °F temperatures and sunshine dominate.
USA
US ski operations are narrowing to the final few dozen ski areas still running their 2025–26 seasons as spring conditions dominate most regions.
The West Coast saw the most significant weather of the week, with a slow Pacific system producing up to a metre/39 inches of snow in parts of California and the Southwest, though 90 mph/145 km/h gusts disrupted lift operations. Kirkwood posted one of the bigger accumulations with about 60 cm/24 inches, but the 50 cm/20 inches at Mammoth was enough for them to confirm a later season end than previously announced, now going to the end of May, at least.
In the Rockies, roughly ten areas remain open, some targeting May opening, with mixed skies, intermittent high-terrain snow (up to 14 inches/36 cm reported in Wyoming) and freeze–thaw cycles driving softer afternoon surfaces.
After its long cold winter the Eastern US has effectively transitioned to spring, with warm 60s–70s °F/15–21 °C temperatures accelerating the thaw. Half a dozen areas are open including some like Killington, Jay Peak and Sugarloaf aiming to stay open into May despite the warmth.