J2Ski Snow Report - September 24th 2026

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:51:58 GMT

Celebrating the Fiestas Patrias in Portillo, Chile, last week

As the Southern Hemisphere ski season winds down with varying snow levels, the Northern Hemisphere autumn brings fresh snow to Western North America. There are early glacier/stored-snow openings in Europe and Lapland.

The Snow Headlines - September 24th
- South America's largest ski area extends season into October.
- Last ski area open for 2026 in Australia ending season.
- Second Italian glacier area open for September snowsports.
- Austria's Pitztal glacier opening this weekend as planned, Kaunertal delaying.
- Finland's Levi and Ruka starting seven-month seasons next week thanks to snow farming.
- Snowfall in Eastern Europe.
- Saas-Fee announces reopening in a week.

More snow forecast for South America.

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World Overview

As spring advances, the Southern Hemisphere ski season is steadily winding down.

Australia is closing after a warm, low-snow winter that left only small sections of terrain operating in its final days. New Zealand has seen a mix of sunshine, fresh snow, and mild spells, leading to several closures and reduced terrain elsewhere. In Argentina, the season is tapering off but many centres still offer substantial skiing thanks to deep cover and strong snowmaking support. Chile remains in the best shape, with widespread terrain still open and solid spring snowpacks keeping conditions reliable even as the season nears its end.

Meanwhile it's full autumn in the northern hemisphere by both season measures now and it feels like that in western North America, mostly, with mountain tops turning white. Unfortunately, not so much in Europe's Alps leading to the Kaunertal glacier which had planned to start its season deciding to delay. The Pitztal is going ahead, joining Italy's Val Senales which started its season last weekend.

The wraps have also come off the huge piles of snow stored from last season in Lapland with Levi and Ruka due to open for their 26-27 season next week. Some light snow was also reported in the Balkans and other Eastern European mountains on Tuesday evening.

Southern Hemisphere

Australia

Perisher is set to wrap up Australia's 2026 season this Friday, 25 September, ending 10 days earlier than hoped after a winter of low snowfall and warm temperatures. The resort enjoyed a decent final week with a bit of light natural snow and overnight snowmaking, but terrain has shrunk from 8 km at the weekend to just 2 km. Recent temperatures ranged from -5 oC up high overnight to +15 oC at the base.

Mild, sunny weather continues, with daytime highs of 14-18 oC and crisp early mornings.

New Zealand

New Zealand's slopes have seen a mix of classic spring conditions this week. A decent snowfall late last week delivered some perfect blue‑sky days, though mild spells also thinned cover in places. Fresh cold and snow over the past 48 hours have improved things again.

A few fields including Mt Dobson and Porters have now closed, and most others have eased back from 100% open to around 70-80%, though Mt Hutt still reports full operations and the country's deepest base at nearly 2m up top.

Mostly settled, cold weather dominates, with summit temperatures between -14 oC and -5 oC. More snowfall is expected as a weekend front arrives.

Argentina

Argentina's ski season is winding down, with several centres closing last weekend, though most larger areas are still going with 60-100% of terrain still open.

Las Lenas has extended its season to this weekend and now has the world's deepest snow depth at 3.3m. Catedral will stay open until 11 October, keeping over 32 km of slopes available.

Recent weather has swung between rain, sleet, heavy snow and springlike warmth, with temperatures from -5 oC up high to +15 oC at resort level. The coming days remain changeable, with freeze-thaw cycles, light high‑altitude snow and firmer mornings giving way to softer afternoon conditions.

Chile

Chile's ski areas remain largely open with good spring cover and fresh snowfall this week, though Nevados de Chillan ended its 2026 season last weekend blaming mild conditions.

Valle Nevado is fully open and has extended its season by three weeks, offering 40 km of terrain. Linked El Colorado has 45.5 km, and La Parva adds 28 km, totalling over 110 km across the 3 Valleys.

Corralco leads for depth although it has dropped to second in the world now behind Las Lenas. Mostly dry, settled weather continues, with occasional cloud, brief high‑altitude snow and a chance of rain or sleet lower down.

Northern Hemisphere

Europe

Only two ski centres are currently open in the Alps (although that's double what it was a week ago!) both in Italy. Val Senales managed to launch its 26-27 season as scheduled, despite months of unusually warm temperatures at high altitude that continue to delay openings at resorts such as Saas‑Fee and Zermatt.

Val Senales initially offered around 1 km of skiing at the weekend before closing again midweek.

Passo Stelvio remains open each morning though, with about 3 km available, mainly for race‑team training. Conditions have been mostly sunny, with freezing levels easing down toward 3200-3800 m and glacier temperatures ranging from -5 oC to +5 oC.

Four Austrian glaciers had been expected to open this coming weekend, but only Pitztal has confirmed it will do so as scheduled, while Kaunertal has announced a delay due to recent mild weather and rainfall rather than anow.

Solden now appears likely to begin operations in early October, and Hintertux, which had originally aimed for a September restart, may also wait until next month, though it still plans a major park opening on 2 October. Saas Fee has also announced a partial reopening of its glacier slopes from the 3rd.

In the north, Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier is believed to have reopened but currently limits access to pre‑booked teams only. In Finland, both Ruka and Levi are preparing to start their 26-27 seasons next week, using large stored‑snow reserves to build around 2 km of skiable terrain each, including early‑season terrain‑park features.

Further east, colder conditions have brought the first autumn snowfall to peaks in Bulgaria, Serbia and neighbouring regions.

A settled, sunny pattern continues above 2500 m in the Alps, with clear skies, firm overnight surfaces around -5 oC and afternoon highs near +8 oC. Freeze-thaw cycles dominate, with no significant snowfall expected. More unsettled with snow showers forecast in northern Scandinavia.

North America

There are still no outdoor ski areas are currently open in North America, but early signs of winter are continuing.

Western mountains have seen fresh dustings on high terrain, including Breckenridge, and Loveland is nearing its usual late‑September start to snowmaking.

On the East Coast, Sunday River in Maine has test‑fired its system ahead of colder nights.

Looking ahead high elevations in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada will see a cooler, mostly dry week, with several nights near or below freezing. The Sierra and Pacific Northwest stay milder, with only light, localized precipitation expected.

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