J2Ski Snow Report - August 6th 2026

Thu, 6 Aug 2026 18:39:36 GMT

Perisher, NSW, Australia, had a good day or two this week... and there's snow in the forecast too.

Southern Hemisphere ski areas have their best skiing week of 2026, with Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina all reporting significantly improved conditions and more terrain openings, whilst the Northern Hemisphere struggles with summer heat.

The Snow Headlines - August 6th
- Most New Zealand ski centres now at or near full operation.
- Terrain at several Australian ski areas more than half open for first time this winter.
- Portillo passes 6 m/236 inches snowfall in 16 days - access road closure for more than 3 weeks.
- Some rare natural snowfall for Lesotho's Afriski as 2026 season nears end.
- Zermatt announces temporary closure of glacier slopes for summer skiing.
- Only summer ski area that had been open in Scandinavia begins temporary closure

More snow is forecast for Australia and South America.

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
The Southern Hemisphere has entered its strongest week of the 2026 season at the start of August, with all major regions reporting improved conditions. First up, Australia's winter has finally started to take off, with colder weather and modest snowfall pushing terrain openings upward after a difficult July. Across in New Zealand most slopes remain in excellent shape, with widespread snowfall, firm freezes and most ski areas close to full capacity.

Meanwhile, South America continues its powerful winter run that began mid-July: Argentina's ski areas are largely open with healthy bases, whilst Chile's third week of intense snowfall has delivered exceptional cover but left parts of the Andes inaccessible. Southern Africa stays mostly dry and sunny, with only a brief rare snow dusting last weekend as its short season winds down.

Meanwhile, the Northern Hemisphere is struggling through intense summer heat. A fast growing number of Alpine glaciers have lost their snow cover entirely, exposing ice and forcing Zermatt to temporarily halt summer skiing. Only Saas-Fee and Passo Stelvio remain open at time of writing. Norway's Galdhopiggen is shut for its usual August pause, and North America offers only indoor skiing at present.

Southern Hemisphere

Australia

Fresh snowfall (most recently 10-15 cm/4-6 inches on Thursday) and cold nights have transformed conditions across Australia's ski areas, allowing for a rapid expansion of terrain after a difficult start to the season.

Perisher now has nearly one metre/3 feet of snow lying on its higher terrain and 70% of its runs open, giving it more skiable runs last weekend than larger South American resorts (and the most terrain open at any resort worldwide), although they have since caught up again.

Thredbo and Falls Creek are also close to 70% open, whilst Hotham sits around 50%. Some smaller centres remain limited, but overall access has improved sharply after July's unusually warm, low-snow conditions.

Looking ahead it is expected to be mostly sunny through Saturday, then a strong front forecast to move through on Sunday-Monday should bring widespread snowfall.

New Zealand

After a very cold and snowy week in New Zealand brought traffic and other problems to cities, the country's ski areas are reporting their best conditions of the season. Besides the new natural snow, consistently cold nights boosted snowmaking and refreshed increasingly solid bases. Most major resorts are now at or near full operations.

Mount Hutt leads on depth at with over one metre/3 feet now lying, top to bottom. It is also one of three centres reporting 40 km/25 miles or more of slopes open. It is 100% open but Cardrona, 95% open, now offers a few kilometres/miles more runs thanks to having the country's largest skiable area following last winter's expansion. Coronet Peak is also fully open despite its thinner cover, matching Mount Hutt for skiable kilometres/miles.

Argentina

Argentina's ski areas are offering their best conditions of the season right now, with all centres open and operating 60-100% of terrain. Several weeks of cold, snowy weather have built mid-winter bases, though depths vary widely.

Las Lenas has Argentina's deepest cover at 2.3 m/7.5 feet (also the world's second deepest) and has nearly 60% open. Chapelco and Caviahue report substantial upper-mountain depths of more than one metre/3 feet each, whilst Catedral is providing the most open kilometres/miles worldwide despite being only 55% open.

Cerro Bayo is fully open on thin lower cover, and Cerro Castor down in Tierra del Fuego, has about half of its runs open having missed out on the big falls further north.

It is looking cold and snowy over the next few days, with temperatures remaining below freezing and frequent snow showers forecast.

Chile

Chile has enjoyed a third week of major snowfall, with Portillo accumulating over 6 m/236 inches in 16 days and currently has the deepest snowpack globally at 2.85 m/9.3 feet. Access roads have remained closed for more than three weeks now but it has reopened some slopes for those who never left before the storm or have been helicoptered in - the centre reopened about a third of its terrain last Saturday.

Other resorts have managed to open despite heavy snow totals of up to 3 m/10 feet. Valle Nevado (90/170 cm/35/67 inches) is now fully open, and nearby El Colorado (50/85 cm/20/33 inches) has 90% of terrain available, placing both among the world's most open areas.

Central and northern regions turn sunny and stable from Thursday, whilst southern resorts face a colder Pacific front bringing moderate snowfall, followed by heavier weekend snow and lingering showers into Monday.

Southern Africa

There was a dusting of fresh snowfall at Lesotho's Afriski at the weekend giving a brief thin white covering to the off-piste terrain surrounding the centre's main run, which is usually a white stripe of machine-made snow down the hillside. The run is currently about 1.2 km/0.75 miles long, two thirds of its full maximum length. Temperatures have continued to reach around +12oC/54oF in the daytime and only just got down to around freezing/-1oC/30oF overnight. After the snowfall it has been back to full sunshine most days.

There is a fortnight left of the 2026 season here with the upcoming Winterfest on the 22nd August which will mark the season end a week earlier than usual.

Northern Hemisphere

Alpine glaciers are seeing challenging times once again, with persistent summer heat pushing the freezing level above 4,000 m/13,123 feet (and glacier height) for long periods. As a result most glacier snow cover has now melted, leaving bare ice exposed to direct sunlight.

These conditions forced Zermatt, the only centre still attempting year-round snowsports, to temporarily suspend summer skiing last Friday.

That leaves just two Alpine glacier areas still operating at time of writing: now the Northern Hemisphere's only lift-served snow options. Zermatt's Swiss neighbour Saas-Fee reports around 10 km/6 miles of high-altitude terrain open and Italy's Passo Stelvio offers about 4 km/2.5 miles.

The forecast shows little change: freezing levels near 4,000 m/13,123 feet, firm early-morning surfaces softening quickly, occasional rain or sleet showers, and only limited high-peak snowfall.

Norway's Galdhopiggen has also closed for its usual late-July to mid-September closure and is aiming to reopen later next month.

North America currently has no outdoor lift-served skiing, though Canada's Sunshine briefly saw a dusting of weekend snow.

Re:J2Ski Snow Report - August 6th 2026

Thu, 6 Aug 2026 19:44:42 GMT

Saas Fee has announced that it is suspending summer skiing on Monday, 10. August 2026 until further notice. Sunday, 9. August 2026 will therefore be the last day of operation for the summer ski area for the time being. https://www.saas-fee.ch/de/sommeraktivitaeten/sommerski presumably an English version will follow in due course.

As at Zermatt, due to the prolonged high temperatures the lifts on the glacier are no longer securely anchored in the ice. Therefore, it is no longer safe to operate them.

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