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As temperatures dropped to -1.4C overnight, snowmakers at Australia's largest resort, Perisher, made their first snow of the year. It comes as the resort recognises a major milestone: 20 years of automated snowmaking technology, which has seen snowmaking evolve from manually adjusted air and water snow guns to a largely automated system, helping provide more reliable early season cover and better conditions in high-traffic areas across the resort.

"In the early days of snowmaking the process of firing and adjusting air/water mixture settings on the snow guns was all done manually. Continual improvements and investment from Perisher on our snowmaking system over the last 20 years has resulted in us now having the majority of our snowmaking terrain covered with automated guns," explains Perisher's Director of Mountain Operations Andrew Kennedy, who has been there from the beginning.

These guns (either lances or fans) are able to regulate their output as required to either maximise snow productivity for early season base building or be set to provide a nice dry fresh layer for an optimal skiing surface.

For Perisher's snowmakers, the resort runs swing and graveyard snowmaking shifts from 4pm to midnight and midnight to 8am, allowing the team to take advantage of suitable evening and early morning conditions, and as technology has improved, automated guns have helped Perisher's snowmaking team respond more precisely to changing conditions across the mountain.

"Temperatures are always varying between the top of the mountain and the valley floor so the automated guns can be adjusted to enable maximum production as the temperature fluctuates. With the old manual guns, you were reliant on a snowmaker making manual adjustments at the gun itself. Each time they would ride around doing a gun check and this manual process could mean missing production opportunities," says Andrew, adding, "Snowmaking provides a level of snow cover certainty for our guests."

Australia's season is expected to start on Friday, June 5th, the start of a long holiday weekend in the country to celebrate the birthday of King Charles III.

The country has had several natural snowfalls over the past month and light snow ios forecast on high terrain this week but usually relies on snowmaking in the early season. A number of resorts including Mt Buller, Thredbo (pictured below last week) and Corin Forest now have all-weather snowmaking machines to include snow cover certainty.

The high-altitude Italian ski area of Passo Tonale, which is lift-linked to the ski area of Ponte di Legno with the two jointly marketed at 'Pontedilegno-Tonale', has announced that two new gondolas are being installed over the summer to replace old chairlifts. A new Skywalk viewing platform is also being installed for 2027 and there are slope improvements and new snowmaking in the upgrade package too.

The biggest change will be for uplift on the route of the Corno d'Aola chairlift and Angelo ski lift in Ponte di Legno. The iconic double chairlift, installed almost four decades ago in 1989, will be replaced by a modern 10-person Leitner gondola. Starting with the 2026/2027 cutting the ascent to just 6 and a half minutes from nearly 20 minutes previously.

The new lift will connect Valbione to the summit at 2,120 metres, with an intermediate station located where the current Petit Pierre mountain hut stands.

In addition, the Valbiolo chairlift, which was installed back in 1993, is also being replaced by a second new 10-seat Leitner gondola lift. The lift will be completely rebuilt with higher transport capacity and a new top station located next to Malga Valbiolo, in one of the most popular areas of the ski slopes.

Snowmaking systems are also being upgraded on the Pradiso, Giuliana and Bleis slopes. The resort is one of Italy's most snowsure, with ski lifts climbing to 3016m on the Presena Glacier.

Heavy snowfall coupled with strong winds has been causing operating issues in the Alps over the past few days.
Seven glacier ski areas remain open, but a number have been forced to closed temporarily because of the conditions.

Up to 61cm (just over two feet) of snowfall has been reported over the past few days with the Stubai glacier, one of two due to end their seasons on Sunday, reporting the most.

The other, Kaunertal, which reports 40cm of snowfall, noted its park crews had been busy clearing snow from features but hoped it would be able to operate on Sunday.

Other resorts posting significant fresh snowfall include the formerly year-round Hintertux glacier, which said it has had half-a-metre of snow and the Kitzsteinhorn which has had 46cm in 72 hours. The Molltal glacier hasn't posted a snowfall total as it is one of the centres that said it had to close due to the conditions.

The conditions have also impacted early summer operations such as hiking and mountain biking with Schladming posting the image above of fresh snowfall there today.

Sunny weather is expected on Sunday but more snowfall is forecast on glaciers from Monday, although lighter accumulations in the 5-10cm bracket for most this time.

Scandinavia's 2026 summer ski season is underway with the lift on the Galdhøpiggen Glacier, the highest in Norway, starting turning again this week (pictured above). The centre normally stays open until November, although in recent years has closed for a 4-8 week period in July-September due to melting snowpack.

Norway's second summer ski area at Stryn has announced it will offer cat skiing this coming weekend and then plans to start lift operations on the 22nd, however it has warned that its season may be short and may not even start if the weather is too warm between now and then. So far it says its looking promising.

The lift at Scandinavia's third summer area, Fonna, closed when the operating company ran into difficulties two years ago and has subsequently started to collapse and is being removed. There's talk of a terrain park opening at a new location on the glacier but nothing confirmed as yet.

In a separate development, the famous Swedish spring skiing resort of Riksgränsen in the Arctic Circle, which usually ends its season about two-thirds of the way through May, then reopens for a midsummer long weekend in June, has announced that this year it will stay open right through to midsummer operating its lifts on Fridays-Sundays. This includes the option to ski under the midnight sun on one evening each week.

Afriski resort in Lesotho has reported subzero temperatures and its first snowfall of the autumn as the start of the southern hemisphere's season later this month rapidly approaches.

Snowfall has also been reported in the past 36 hours on two other southern hemisphere continents with ski areas. The south american Andes saw snowfall with Portillo, which opens next month, posting its first snowfall of the autumn.



There was also the second snowfalls ahead of the season in Australia. This was Mount Buller yesterday.



"There's nothing quite like fresh snow to get the stoke levels rising for the season ahead," said Sarah Gamon, Marketing Coordinator at Falls Creek, which reported temperatures dipped as low as –5.4C overnight.

"Having the snowguns firing up is an exciting milestone, giving our team the chance to fine tune systems and get everything dialled in ahead of the season. It's a strong signal that winter conditions are starting to line up, and our snowmaking team is ready to go when the time comes," Sarah added.

In fact one New Zealand ski area, Hamner Springs, already opened for two days earlier this month after heavy snowfall, although it closed again after a thaw.

The southern hemisphere's ski season proper is expected to kick off in four weeks time unless early heavy snowfall berings forwatd opening dates.

A growing number of southern hemisphere resorts are joining centres like Australia's Mt Buller and New Zealand's Whakapapa, which have run all weather snowmaking machines for many years to guarantee opening small areas of snow for beginners, terrain park features and snow play as early as late May. Australia's Corin Forest has been offering snow play since early April thanks to theirs. The picture below was taken on 6 April.

Canada's Sunshine ski resort near Banff is set to celebrate "unofficial Star Wars Day" later today, May the 4th (be with you) and then tomorrow Cinco De Mayo on its slopes.

For the past few seasons, Sunshine's slopes have come to life on May the 4th as fans dress in character bring the spirit of Star Wars to life, on the snow at Banff Sunshine.

Skiers and riders are encouraged to dress as Jedi, Stormtroopers, or other Star Wars characters. In past seasons skiers and snowboarders that dress as their favourite characters in full costume (head-to-boots). In past seasons those doing so have enjoyed a discounted lift ticket but whilst the event has been confirmed, it's not clear if that's the case this year. There have also been Star wars themed food served in mountain restaurants.

Then tomorrow, on May 5th, it's a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Banff Sunshine with tacos and tequila promised as the Canadian ski area makes a fast switch for Tatooine to Mexico.

Sunshine is one of three areas still open in Canada, along with Whistler and Quebec's Sommet St Sauveur. It's upper base is still at 2.5m and it reported last week its cumulative snowfall total had hit 990cm, just one storm away from reaching a record breaking 10 metres in a season.

A new generation of chairlift is under construction at the Matterhorn Ski Paradise on the Swiss/Italian border.

Zermatt's oldest chairlift, the Patrullarve quad, is being replaced by a state-of-the-art 6-seater chairlift after 37 years in operation, ahead of the 2026/27 ski seasons.

The new chairlift utilises the innovative 'ROPERA' technology from cable car manufacturer Leitner and will be the first chairlift of this type in Switzerland and the second worldwide. It sets new standards in performance including quiet operation and efficient, sustainable construction Zermatt's lift company says. Durable components, optimised maintenance intervals and energy-efficient systems contribute significantly to this.

Following the Kumme gondola and the Hublot chairlift, the new lift will also be equipped for autonomous operation, using the 'LeitPilot' system meaning it will operate with an unmanned mountain station.

The first National ski lift (Patrullarve–Blauherd) opened on 1 February 1965 and was one of the first facilities in Zermatt's Sunnegga–Blauherd area. However, as visitor numbers increased, the original lift's capacity proved increasingly inadequate and waiting times grew ever longer. A more efficient alternative was therefore sought and the Patrullarve quad chairlift was added, with a capacity of 2,400 passengers per hour, and opened on 6 December 1989. It went on to transport a total of around 24 million guests over 37 years.

Ski Rossendale's dry ski slope in Lancashire could be closed in a review of council-owned leisure centres. Rossendale Council is considering the future of what is now known as The Hill Ski Centre as part of a new review of all leisure facilities managed by Rossendale Leisure Trust.

The dry‑slope centre, which opened in 1973, is described in a council report as providing clear community benefit but facing significant financial and operational constraints. The centre features a 200-metre long main dry ski slope, making it one of the longest in the North West. The venue operates three slopes, including a 60-metre intermediate slope and a 25-metre beginner nursery slope.

The council review has looked at running costs, loan commitments and customer income across the trust's portfolio, which is funded through a mix of council support, Sport England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. According to the report, the trust operates a "diverse and ageing" network of sites, limiting its ability to focus on areas with the strongest financial return.

The document recommends that Rossendale Leisure Trust concentrate on gym, sport and physical‑activity facilities, while alternative options should be explored for The Hill.

The report states that The Hill carries £39,000 of an inter‑company loan and that its current layout restricts opportunities to diversify. The nursery slope is already used for skiing and tubing, leaving little space for new activities without significant investment. It adds that while the centre delivers "genuine community benefit", its ability to expand is limited, external investment prospects are low, and the financial case for major redevelopment "does not stand up" against realistic income projections.

However, any decision to close the facility would also need to address a £470,000 Sport England grant, which includes claw‑back provisions requiring detailed legal and financial advice. The report describes decisions about the slope's future as "genuinely difficult" and says further studies would be required to support a clear long‑term position.

The centre previously faced closure in 2011, then operating as Ski Rossendale, the centre shut temporarily after Rossendale Borough Council withdrew funding. Volunteers and supporters subsequently formed a social enterprise to take over operations, refurbishing the 38‑year‑old facility and reopening it in September 2011. The centre has continued to operate under the new model and marked its 50th anniversary in 2023.

The review notes that the trust's current range of sites reflects its development over many years but now says that now presents "real challenges" in prioritising resources. It argues there is an opportunity to re‑orient the trust toward its core purpose of physical activity, sport and leisure. The Hill is described as a "unique leisure asset", but one that requires strategic clarity. Councillors are due to consider the findings next Wednesday, May 6.