J2Ski's Where to Ski in May 2025
J2Ski's Where to Ski in May 2025
Published : 03-May-2025 07:30
A few ski areas remain open into May in the northern hemisphere. Although unusual, it's possible some southern hemisphere resorts may open early by the end of the month.
Kitzsteinhorn, Kaprun, Austria, expects to be open until mid-May...
Where to Ski in May 2025
The month of May is the last of meteorological springtime and the one which sees almost all of the remaining northern hemisphere's still-open ski areas finally call it a day on their 24-25 ski season.
We start the month with about 100 still open, but many of these will close at the end of this weekend. Outside of the Alps and Scandinavia, the European season is just about over. Europe's most southerly ski area, Spain's Sierra Nevada down by the Mediterranean coast, is staying open to the first weekend of May after getting lots of April snowfall.
In North America and Japan, as in Europe, the season is winding down fast but there are still 50+ ski areas open, though most of them will close by the middle of May.
Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere, the 2025 season will probably start early next month. It's not unheard of for resorts in Australia, New Zealand, Lesotho, Argentina or Chile to open in late May though if there's a big pre-season snowfall.
There has already been some natural snowfall in Australia and New Zealand, and one Australian centre has opened a "snow play" slope with its new all—weather snowmaking machine.
Europe
Austria
Austria invariably has the most ski areas open in Europe for much of the autumn and late spring.
Although the number of Austrian glacier ski areas has been slowly diminishing, there are still half-a-dozen operating outside the main season and most start May with around two metres of snow. Snow depths have climbed a little in April.
Obertauern and Sportgastein are amongst the centres open to May 1st with Ischgl and the Pitztal and Solden glaciers open through the first weekend of the month. The Stubai is expected to stay open a further week to the 11th May then the Kaunertal and Kitzsteinhorn glaciers should make it another fortnight, at least to the 18th.
Two Austrian areas are expected to make it to June or beyond - the Hintertux and Molltal glaciers. The latter reported fresh snowfall in the final days of April.
France
The huge snowfalls in France just before the late Easter weekend last month gave a big boost to what had been fairly lacklustre snow depths up to then. Most of the country's ski areas have already closed for the season but Tignes and Val d'Isere's higher slopes are open until the end of the first weekend of the month. Both plan to re-open for glacier skiing in June.
The only French ski area aiming to stay open through May is Les Deux Alpes. The plan is to keep 1,000m of vertical descent open between the top of the slopes at 3600 down to 2600m until May 28th, then from May 29th that will drop to the top 400m of vertical on the glacier. A snowpark should remain open throughout but it's all subject to snow and weather conditions of course.
Italy
Around half-a-dozen Italian ski areas are open as we start May but three of these, Livigno, Passo Tonale and Sulden are expected to close on the 1st, with Cortina d'Ampezzo's Col Gallina and Val Senales staying open to the end of the first weekend of the month.
That really leaves only Cervinia expected to stay open through May, switching from winter to summer operations on Monday 5th. The good news there is that Cervinia saw over a metre of snowfall in the latter half of April.
Switzerland
Swiss centres have been posting some of the deepest snow depths in the Alps through much of the season and about half-a-dozen of the country's areas are open as we start May.
Five of these; Adelboden, Gstaad's Glacier 3000, the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz, Engelberg and Samnaun are expected to close on Sunday the 4th.
That will most likely mean only the year-round Matterhorn Glacier Paradise above Zermatt is open in the second week of May and throughout the month.
Scandinavia
Many of Scandinavia's leading ski areas stay open to the first weekend of May, after which there's a mix of some staying open and new glacier centres starting their 2025 seasons.
The ski areas staying open longest include Sweden's Riksgransen which has had a cold and snowy April and offers midnight sun ski sessions as 24-hour daylight arrives in May.
Over in Finnish Lapland, Levi plans to stay open later than usual, to the middle of the month.
Norway's three glacier areas Galdhoppigen, Fonna and Stryn open successively for their 2025 seasons between the 9th and 24th of the month.
North America
Canada
Around five centres are open in Canada as we start May.
Two of these, Lake Louise and Marmot Basin near Jasper, will end their seasons after the first weekend, but Alberta's Sunshine near Banff, Blackcomb Mountain above Whistler in BC and on the East Coast, Quebec's Sommet St Sauveur, are all open until around the 20th-25th May, so will offer skiing most of the month.
Conditions in the West are pretty good for this late in the spring, after a cold and snowy spring. In Quebec its more remaining patches of snow on the upper mountain.
USA
The US has more ski areas open than any other as we enter May, with around 10 planning to stay open to at least the final Monday of the month, which is the Memorial Day public holiday in the country.
That's also the weekend when the Beartooth Basin summer ski Area on the Wyoming/Montana state line, the only one in North America, is hoping to open for its 2025 season (it didn't open in 2024).
Snow depths in the west of the country are amongst the deepest in the world as we start May, widely in the 2-4 metre (6 to 13 feet) depth bracket.
The numbers are less spectacular on the East Coast where Vermont's Jay Peak and Killington aim to stay open as long as they can.
Other areas open into May include: The Arizona Snowbowl; Mammoth and The Palisades in California; Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge and Winter Park in Colorado; Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood Meadows and Timberline in Oregon; Brian Head, Snowbird and Solitude in Utah, and Crystal Mountain and 49 Degrees North in Washinton State, among others.
Asia
You can still ski at many of Japan's famous resorts, at least to the end of the first weekend of May, with most staying open for the country's annual 'Golden Week' period which straddles the end of April and the start of May.
However, it won't be the waist-deep, light and fluffy powder for which the country is famous, but more a few kilometres of sugary snow left at the top of the mountain.
Japan also has one summer ski area, Gassan, which opened in mid-April and aims to stay open until July if its snowpack lasts. It's started with over 9 metres lying – a metre more than last year – so the early signs are good!
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