J2Ski's Where to Ski in September 2026

Tue, 1 Sep 2026 20:01:42 GMT

September is a changeover month in world skiing, the start of spring seeing the southern hemisphere's season wind down and the start of autumn bring increased anticipation in the northern hemisphere.

It's been going off at The Remarkables, New Zealand

Where to Ski in September 2026

The Southern Hemisphere is experiencing mixed ski conditions, with Australia facing early closures while New Zealand and South American resorts enjoy excellent late-season snow and extended operations into October.

In Europe, summer heat has temporarily closed most glacier resorts, though recent cold weather has operators hopeful for late-September reopenings and winter season launches.

North American outdoor ski areas remain completely closed for September, but resorts are preparing for winter openings fueled by a forecast Super El Nino.

Southern Hemisphere
Australia
Australia's challenging 2026 season saw ups and downs last month, with the high point around mid-August when cold and snowy weather brought base depths at Thredbo and Perisher close to the magic 1m/39 inches mark, but rain and warmth later caused terrain closures and led several lower-altitude areas, including Mount Baw Baw and Selwyn, to end their seasons early.

At the peak, Perisher overtook ski areas in the Andes to post the most terrain open anywhere in the world.

It remains to be seen how long the remaining Aussie areas will stay open; most are aiming for the latter half of September and some years a few go into October, though 2026 looks unlikely to be one of those unless there is a late burst of winter.

New Zealand
After a shaky start, New Zealand's ski season has become a good one for most commercial centres, which reported a cold and snowy August and were 95-100% open.

Some centres will close in the latter half of September but others like Mount Hutt usually stay open well into October, and Cardrona announced on September 1 it will stay open until October 18. North Island resorts such as Turoa and Whakapapa on Mount Ruapehu tend to come into their own in September and October.

Argentina
The Andes had a poor start in June and the first half of July with little snow, then huge falls from mid-July through August changed the situation, initially keeping some resorts closed because access roads or slopes were unsafe.

Now most are posting the most terrain open and deepest cover of the season, up to 3 metres/10 feet at Las Lenas.

Most Argentine ski areas close around the third or fourth weekend of September but some, including the largest, Catedral near Bariloche, normally stay open into early October and others have already extended their expected seasons because of the heavy snow.

Chile
Chile's ski areas reported their biggest snowfalls in more than 50 years in late July and early August, which forced some to close access roads for almost a month after early-season lack of snow.

Most are now hopeful for a strong spring season, and several big-name resorts have announced extensions into October, including Portillo, La Parva and Valle Nevado. Some smaller areas traditionally close around the last week of September unless they too extend, so it is looking like a strong month there.

Northern Hemisphere
Austria
With Hintertux no longer attempting year-round opening, there are still three Alpine centres that should be open now - but they have been closed in recent weeks due to the warm weather.

Hintertux has said only that it should reopen at some point in September. Three other Austrian glaciers plan to start their seasons towards the end of the month: Solden on the 25th, then Kaunertal and Pitztal on the 26th.

France
Unless there is an unannounced change for 2026, there are no French glacier ski areas opening in the autumn until very late, with the season in France starting in late November.

Italy
Passo Stelvio was supposed to be open throughout September but closed in mid-August due to lack of snow on its glacier; the closure is temporary and it has had snowfall over the past ten days, so it may reopen.

Cervinia is due to retain access to Zermatt's glacier skiing in the first week of September but is scheduled to begin its annual shutdown after the first weekend on the 6th; it has also been closed by conditions.

The Val Senales glacier ski area aims to open for its 2025-26 season on the 18th if conditions allow.

Switzerland
Switzerland should have the most ski areas open in the northern hemisphere in the last half of September, albeit with only two centres due to open, Saas-Fee and nearby Zermatt.

This year both are currently closed because of the hot summer but could reopen any day if recent cold and snowy weather continues. Other Swiss glacier areas are not expected to start opening until October and November.

Scandinavia
The Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway, with Scandinavia's highest lifts, is officially open through the summer and autumn but in recent years has closed for a month or so from mid-August to mid-September due to warmer temperatures; if 2026 follows that pattern it should reopen two to three weeks into September, though nothing is confirmed yet.

Finland's Levi and Ruka are due to start their seven-month-plus seasons on the first weekend of October thanks to large snow-farming operations.

North America
There are no outdoor lift-served ski areas open in North America in September, except for a few dry ski slopes, and the only lift-served snow skiing is at the indoor Big Snow centre in New Jersey.

September is nevertheless a month of high anticipation, especially in 2026 with the media-dubbed 'Super El Nino' expected to perhaps peak right at the start of the season in November. High-altitude resorts in the Rockies usually build excitement by starting snowmaking late in the month, and an early heavy September snowfall has occasionally led some resorts to open for a few days before it thaws again.

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J2Ski's Where to Ski in September 2026