J2Ski Snow Report - September 3rd 2026

Thu, 3 Sep 2026 16:19:56 GMT

Portillo, Chile, has had over 30 feet of snow this winter...

The Andes, led by Chile, currently have the world's deepest snow packs - exceeding 4 metres/13 feet. Despite storm disruption in New Zealand, Cardrona has extended opening to 18th October.

The Snow Headlines - September 3rd
- Snow depths in the Andes exceed 4 metres/13 feet for the first time this season.
- New Zealand's Treble Cone briefly cut off by landslips in a major storm.
- Cardrona extends season to 18th October.
- Australian areas battle to keep terrain open as spring conditions thin cover.
- All outdoor snow ski areas in the northern hemisphere remain closed as autumn begins.
- Fresh snow fell on high Canadian terrain.

More snow in the forecast for New Zealand, South America and high in the Alps.

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World Overview
As we start September and meteorological spring in the southern hemisphere, the Andes continue to report the world's best snow. Further falls over the last seven days have taken Chile's deepest cover past the 4 metres/13 feet mark for the first time this winter, and most resorts in the region are fully open or very close to full operations.

Across the Pacific it has been a stormy week in New Zealand, but most centres are open when conditions permit. The storm late last week brought gales and periods of torrential rain, degrading slope surfaces and causing landslips on access roads at at least one area, but centres worked to repair slopes and reopen quickly.

In Australia conditions remain challenging, with warm daytime highs although cold nights have allowed snowmakers to run; remaining resorts report 5-35% of their slopes still skiable.

Africa's 2026 season at Afriski in Lesotho ended on Monday.

Dry, sunny weather has dominated the Alps, with freezing levels between 3,500-4,500 m/11,483-14,764 feet and glaciers undergoing regular overnight freeze-thaw cycles. Light snow has dusted several glaciers but not enough for Zermatt, Passo Stelvio or Saas-Fee, all temporarily closed because of the heat, to reopen. It's hoped that by the end of the month about 10 centres will be open again, but for now there are hundreds of indoor and dry-slope ski centres available across the northern hemisphere.

Southern Hemisphere
Australia

Australia's remaining ski areas are moving into spring, helped by cold nights that allow limited snowmaking and occasional natural top-ups.

Thredbo says its team has run snow guns whenever temperatures drop; daytime highs of +9-10 oC/48-50 oF continue to thin cover. Most resorts have just 5-35% of terrain open.

Thredbo currently has the deepest base at 90 cm/35 inches and about one-third of runs operating. Perisher has lost around a third of its base and has dropped from 80% of runs open to roughly 30% still skiable.

New Zealand

New Zealand's ski areas picked up a late burst of up to 50 cm/20 inches of snow before last weekend, with more showers since, but the storm also brought strong winds, rain and landslips that disrupted operations and complicated avalanche control and road access.

Coronet Peak, 95% open, reported fun skiing despite variable conditions. Cardrona faced tricky freezing levels and extensive digging but was fully open again by Sunday and on Monday announced an extra week to the season, moving its closing date back to 18th October, matching Chile's Valle Nevado so far.

Treble Cone reopened after major avalanche and access challenges caused by landslips that forced several days' closure, posting its best cover of the season.

Mount Hutt retains the country's deepest base with over 1 metre/over 3 feet at its base and nearly double that higher up.

Argentina

Argentina's ski resorts stayed wintry this week, with regular light snow and consistently cold temperatures preserving firm cover.

Conditions are strongest on higher terrain, though some bases remain thin. Most areas have seen daily top-ups of 10-20 cm/4-8 inches, with summit temperatures near −4 oC/25 oF overnight. Las Lenas reports the country's deepest snow at 3 metres/10 feet and added more than 1 metre/over 3 feet on upper slopes late last week.

The world's most southerly resort, Cerro Castor, is seeing only light snow this winter. Overall, most major resorts have over two-thirds of terrain open for the final weeks of the season here.

Chile

Spring conditions remain excellent in Chile, arguably the world's best at present, with several major resorts planning to stay open well into October.

Many central and northern Andes areas report some of the world's deepest bases and most are fully operational with every lift running and all runs open.

Another snowy week saw Portillo top a 3 metres/10 feet upper base after 1 metre/3 feet more snowfall, and its access roads were quickly reopened after the latest storm.

Fresh snow also pushed Corralco to increase what is the southern hemisphere's deepest reported snowpack, now above 4 metres/13 feet.

Since the weekend, most regions have been dry and sunny, with temperatures hovering between −6 oC/21 oF and +6 oC/43 oF, while southern resorts continue to see occasional snow showers.

Northern Hemisphere

Now that September has arrived, it is meteorological autumn in the northern hemisphere. It's hoped that by the end of the month around 10 glacier ski areas will be open in the Alps and Scandinavia while snowmaking should be getting underway in the Rockies.

For now, mostly dry, settled weather has continued across the Alps, with freezing levels fluctuating between 3,500-4,500 m/11,483-14,764 feet. Glaciers are again seeing overnight freeze-thaw cycles, and daytime temperatures at 3,000 m/9,843 feet have stayed relatively mild.

Footage has circulated of groomers working on Zermatt's upper slopes, where Swiss race teams reportedly have exclusive access despite the glacier remaining closed to everyone else (Swiss stars have been posting video of training in New Zealand this week).

Light snow has dusted several glaciers, but not enough for Zermatt, Passo Stelvio or Saas-Fee to resume operations. There was some local interest when Livigno briefly created a 1 km/0.6 miles cross-country track from stored winter snow for its 44th Gara da li Contrada event, held even as temperatures reached +20 oC/68 oF.

In North America, Copper Mountain's hike-to terrain park is reported to still be running and Canadian resorts including Kicking Horse, Panorama and Banff's Sunshine reported a healthy covering of fresh snow on higher terrain over the final weekend of August. Late-summer snow there is not unusual but was pleasing to see.

Otherwise more than 150 indoor snow centres offer skiing in Asia, North Africa, North America and Europe alongside hundreds of outdoor and indoor dry-slope facilities.

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J2Ski Snow Report - September 3rd 2026