J2Ski Snow Report - October 15th 2026

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:18:52 GMT

Solden Glacier opened with 18km of slopes

Austria is now the country with the most ski areas open, as fresh snowfall across the Alps allowed three more glaciers to open for the 2026-27 season. Meanwhile, Chile's Valle Nevado is set to be the last southern hemisphere area running (to 8 November).

The Snow Headlines - October 15th
- Austria overtakes Chile and New Zealand to be the country with most areas open.
- Up to 20 cm/8 inches of fresh snowfall above 3,000 m/9,843 ft in the Alps as three more glaciers open for 26-27.
- First turns on fresh snow reported in Colorado and Utah before season starts.
- Up to a foot/30 centimetres of snowfall on high terrain in North America this week.
- Chile posts most snowfall this week, three centres still open thanks to extended seasons.
- 2026 Season ends in Argentina.

Snow in the forecast this weekend for Europe and North America.

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World Overview
It's that week of the year when the number of ski areas open in the Northern Hemisphere overtakes the number in the Southern Hemisphere, prompting us to flip our report accordingly. Numbers of open areas in the north have now climbed into double figures, whilst in the south they've dropped to just five, with the last skiing in Argentina closing last weekend. It looks like most of those still open in Chile and New Zealand will close this coming weekend, with the exception of Valle Nevado.

In the Northern Hemisphere, it's looking more promising, with further snowfall reported (and forecast) in the Alps, Scandinavia, North America and on high terrain in Japan as we move deeper into autumn.

The Southern Hemisphere still leads on meaningful snowfall for now, with Chile reporting further heavy accumulations this past week, even as signs of early winter increasingly appear, with dustings across Europe, North America and Japan.

Three more Austrian glaciers opened last weekend, bringing the Northern Hemisphere total to five and pushing Austria past New Zealand, where more resorts have now closed. Bases remain thin after the hot summer, but snow fell to 1,600 m/5,249 ft in the Alps and over 30 cm/12 inches settled above 3,000 m/9,843 ft. Scandinavia also saw widespread snowfall, supporting four open centres.

In the south, only Chile and three New Zealand areas remain operational. Ironically, ski areas in Australia, where the season ended two weeks early last month, saw fresh snowfall this week.

Northern Hemisphere

The Alps
Things have begun to look more promising in the high Alps, with up to 20 cm/8 inches reported above 1,600 m/5,249 ft over the past week, and the lowest snowline of the autumn so far. Three more Austrian glaciers opened at the weekend with fresh snow, bringing the country's total to five for 26-27: Solden, Stubai and Kitzsteinhorn joined Pitztal and Hintertux. Solden currently offers the most terrain, at 18 km/11 mi.

Italy has two glaciers operating (Passo Stelvio and Val Senales), and there's also Saas-Fee in Switzerland, making eight Alpine ski areas in total, though Zermatt's formerly year-round operation has now reached an unprecedented 10-week closure.

The high alpine areas have stayed dry since earlier this week and will remain so until the end of this week, with daytime temperatures of 2oC to 10oC/36oF to 50oF above 2,000 m/6,562 ft and 1oC to 4oC/34oF to 39oF around 3,000 m/9,843 ft. A cooler spell arrives over the weekend, dropping temperatures back towards freezing and lowering the freezing level to 2,000 m to 3,700 m/6,562 ft to 12,139 ft.

Sunday looks most favourable for renewed high-elevation snowfall, with J2Ski forecasting up to 60 cm/24 inches in 7-day totals for high terrain.

Scandinavia

Finland's Levi and Ruka are already two weeks into their 26-27 seasons thanks to their large snow-farming reserves, but clear, cold weather has dominated the region this week, with daytime temperatures near freezing and overnight lows down to -6oC/21oF, helping preserve surfaces and support snowmaking. Levi currently offers about 2.5 km/2 mi of skiing, Ruka slightly less.

Light natural snowfall has reached several resorts, in some cases to base level. Sweden's Klotten continues to run its farmed-snow terrain park, while Norway's Galdhopiggen Glacier remains open for a few more weeks, but only to pre-booked race teams.

North America

Nowhere in North America seems ready yet for an October opening, but early-season signs continue to improve. High terrain from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies has picked up fresh dustings, in some cases more significant accumulations of 8 inches to 12 inches/20 cm to 30 cm, with Alberta's Sunshine and Marmot Basin turning white again over the weekend.

Parts of Idaho and Montana saw heavy, wet snow linked to Tropical Storm Rachel, which also delivered light high-elevation snow across more than 20 states. High resorts that typically open in late October or early November, like Colorado's Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, reported top-to-bottom snowfall, with snowmaking now underway.

At other areas, such as Silverton and Utah's Brian Head, staff made a few turns on the fresh snow ahead of their scheduled opening dates later in the year. Temperatures have fluctuated but remained cold enough for further test-firings of snowmaking systems.

Looking ahead, snowfall - and October openings - remains most likely in the central and southern Rockies at higher elevations. We're now only about 25 days away from the first official opening target dates in early November, at resorts like Breckenridge, Copper and Banff Sunshine - 'conditions permitting'.

Southern Hemisphere

New Zealand

New Zealand's season is winding down after a week of sunshine mixed with rain, sleet and occasional snow. Base highs reached 15oC/59oF, while upper-mountain nights still dipped to -5oC/23oF.

Mount Hutt closed on Sunday, leaving Cardrona as the South Island's last area, operating just over half its terrain and extending to this coming Sunday.

On the North Island, Turoa and Whakapapa remain open with only 10-15% of slopes. Cardrona reported a 20 cm/8 inch snowfall on Thursday morning but is now expected to stay mostly dry through closing weekend; Ruapehu fields will see frequent rain or snow before colder mid-week conditions and a clearer, milder finish.

Chile

Argentina's season ended on Monday, with Catedral the last resort to close. Chile's season would normally be finished by now too, but Valle Nevado has extended twice and now plans to run until 8 November, likely making it the final Southern Hemisphere resort to close for 2026.

El Colorado and La Parva have also extended their seasons, but so far only until this weekend. El Colorado currently offers the world's most open terrain, close to 100% and over 50 km/31 mi, with Valle Nevado at 70% and La Parva at 50%.

Cold weather has persisted over the past week, with temperatures of -10oC to 5oC/14oF to 41oF and snowfalls of 5 cm to 15 cm/2 inches to 6 inches. The week ahead will bring mixed conditions, with frequent snow showers, fluctuating freezing levels and occasional periods of strong winds.

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J2Ski Snow Report - October 15th 2026