J2Ski Snow Report - November 12th 2026

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 20:59:07 GMT

Whistler Blackcomb, BC, Canada prepping for opening in 8 days time... with snow in the forecast too...

The 2026-27 ski season is gaining momentum worldwide, with over 50 resorts expected to be open this coming weekend despite slightly below-average snow depths in most regions... though there's snow in the forecast for most!

The Snow Headlines - November 12th
- Heavy snowfall forecast for the Western Alps into next week.
- Gstaad, Kitzbuhel and Verbier get their 2026-27 seasons underway.
- More snowfall expected on high terrain in the French Alps, with season starts just a week away.
- Five centres now open in Scandinavia, thanks to snow-farming.
- Solden becomes the first area to open more than 50km/31 miles of runs.
- Breckenridge and Copper delay their openings, but Loveland becomes the fourth resort to open in Colorado.

More snow in the forecast this week for Europe, Japan and North America.

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World Overview

Momentum continues to build for the 2026-27 ski season, with more than 50 areas expected to open this coming weekend. Snow depths remain slightly below average in most regions, but resorts scheduled to open are doing so on time, albeit with very limited terrain so far. Austria's Solden is leading the way, the first resort to open more than 50km/31 miles of runs.

About three-quarters of the areas opening are in Europe, with the majority in Austria and Switzerland, followed by three each in Italy and Sweden. About a dozen North American resorts are also open, mainly in the Rockies on both sides of the US/Canadian border. In Japan, variable El Nino-driven weather has brought heavy snowfall to Hokkaido, followed by some record warm spells.

Meanwhile, Chile's Valle Nevado remains open at weekends, with around a quarter of its terrain still skiable despite summer fast approaching in the Southern Hemisphere.

Europe

Austria

The first Austrian resort to open without relying on a glacier, Kitzbuhel, opened last Friday thanks to its usual snow-farming efforts on the high, shaded Kitzbuhel Resterkogel terrain, creating a kilometre/0.6 miles or so of snow surface, mostly reserved for race team training this month. It joins seven Austrian glacier areas now open, with Molltal the latest to join them.

Solden is leading the way for open terrain (worldwide) at present, with more than 50km/31 miles of slopes open, more than anywhere else. The past week has not been great for pre-season base-building, as the freezing level climbed from below 1,400m/4,593ft to over 2,500m/8,202ft. Skies have been mostly clear, but what precipitation there has been has largely fallen as rain on most Austrian slopes, with snowfall only on the highest terrain.

The coming week looks more promising, with heavier snowfall forecast to lower altitudes.

France

Following some welcome snowfall on the highest slopes, with occasional falls to lower elevations at the end of last week and into the weekend, the French Alps have enjoyed a quieter spell since. Snow below around 2,000m/6,562ft has gradually receded, while higher terrain has seen only light top-ups. No French resorts are currently open, but Tignes and Val Thorens are now little more than a week away from their planned season launches.

The promising news is a forecast of up to 1.4m/55 inches of snowfall over the coming week on high terrain, with snow also falling to lower altitudes. It could be perfect timing if it arrives as expected.

Italy

After a snowy end to last week in Italy's southwest, which saw Prato Nevoso (which saw huge snowfalls last winter) posting pictures of deep cover again, high pressure has brought mostly sunny skies and dry conditions across the country for much of this week, with just occasional light snowfall on high terrain. Freezing levels have fluctuated between 1,500m/4,921ft and 2,500m/8,202ft, with cold temperatures helping snowmaking efforts, particularly in the Dolomites.

Italy currently has three ski centres open. Cervinia leads the way, offering over 30km/19 miles of runs on the area it shares with Zermatt. Sulden and Val Senales offer more limited terrain. It posted 15cm/6 inches of fresh snowfall on Thursday and is in a region expected to see up to 1.4m/55 inches of snowfall over the coming week.

Switzerland

Switzerland reached eight ski areas open for the 2026-27 season already at the weekend, after Verbier and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad launched their seasons last Saturday. That number could reach ten this weekend if Andermatt and Davos open as expected.

Verbier began with around 1km/0.6 miles of terrain available, while Glacier 3000, above Gstaad, opened 6km/4 miles of pistes.

Conditions across the Swiss Alps have been fairly typical for early November, with freezing levels fluctuating between 1,700m/5,577ft and 2,700m/8,858ft. Valleys have seen temperatures from +5oC to -7oC, alongside a mix of sunshine, rain, sleet and light snowfall, the latter particularly on higher terrain. Around 30cm/12 inches of fresh snow fell on higher slopes in western Switzerland over the weekend.

Saas-Fee and Zermatt now offer close to 30km/19 miles of slopes each, with most other Swiss areas (most of which are only operating at weekends this month) offering only 10% or less of that.

Snowfall is forecast across Switzerland over the coming week, heaviest in the west.

Scandinavia

Half a dozen Scandinavian ski areas have now opened for the 2026-27 season. Snow-farming has once again played a key role, even more so than before, allowing three resorts in Sweden and two in Finland to build reliable early-season snow cover, albeit on short pistes of 300m/984ft to 1km/0.6 miles long.

In Sweden, Tarnaby and Kabdalis have now opened, joining Idre Fjall, while Levi and Ruka continue to lead the way in Finland. Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier is still operating its 2026 'summer' season, which began last May and is now in full swing after a late-summer break, with fresh snow and sub-zero temperatures reported this week.

Otherwise, the weather over the wider region has featured plenty of sunshine (albeit with ever-shorter daylight hours, so the floodlights are on morning and evening too), limited precipitation, and temperatures fluctuating around freezing, enabling intermittent snowmaking. Fresh snowfall was reported across Norway on Thursday, with more snow forecast across the region.

North America

Canada

It's been a fairly quiet week for weather in much of western Canada, although the Pacific coast has seen more active systems move through.

Banff's three ski areas are all now open for the 2026-27 season, though early-season conditions mean only a fraction of terrain is currently available, with very thin cover (less than 10cm/4 inches in Lake Louise's case). Norquay led the way, followed by Lake Louise and then Sunshine Village, which described its weekend debut as a 'quiet opening'. A small terrain park with rails, boxes and tubes was among the initial attractions.

A fourth Albertan area, Nakiska, also welcomed skiers for a preview weekend, but warned that limited terrain was available and only suited experts. Elsewhere, Marmot Basin is preparing to open soon, while Whistler Blackcomb is expected to begin operations next week.

USA

Skiing on the US West Coast is underway, with Mammoth opening first last week, followed by Mount Rose, the first resort in the Lake Tahoe region to begin operations this season. Conditions across California's Sierra Nevada have been largely dry and sunny, with cold overnight temperatures helping to maintain the limited early-season snowpack. That's due to change, with up to 90cm/35 inches of snowfall forecast from a major storm system expected to arrive over the weekend.

Further north, more unsettled weather has brought a mix of rain, sleet and snow, perhaps tied to the Super El Nino, to Oregon and Washington, where nowhere is open yet.

In the Rockies, several resorts were forced to delay planned openings after a warmer-than-average autumn hampered snowmaking efforts.

Keystone and Arapahoe Basin have remained open, while Loveland and Copper Mountain have now joined them, although Breckenridge, which planned to open last Friday, has delayed. On the East Coast, colder nights and increasingly wintry weather are improving prospects, with widespread snowmaking and fresh natural snowfall reported.

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J2Ski Snow Report - November 12th 2026