4–6: WOW Glacier Love 2016, Kaprun, Austria
Marketed as the largest winter opening party weekend in the Alps. The party starts at 8pm on Friday 4th with international DJs performing on the WOW main stage.
5: Opening Day, Keystone, USA
Colorado has some of the world’s highest ski slopes and they’re also the earliest non-glacier areas to open. Exact opening depends on it being cold enough of course but Keystone is aiming for Bonfire night.
10: Opening Day, Mammoth, California, USA
The Broadway Express, Chair 1 at Main Lodge is the place to be at 8.30am as one of the longest ski seasons in the world gets under way with the traditional Broadway Express banner breakthrough and annual sundeck beer toast.
11: Opening Day, Banff, Canada
Another ski area with a reputation for a long, snow-sure season is Sunshine ski area at Banff, which stays open through to late May 2017. It’s due to open the day after fellow Banff area Lake Louise.
12–13: Rock On Snowboard Tour: Open Ski Tests, Tignes, France.
The biggest ski and snowboard brands set up camp at the foot of the Grande Motte glacier for the first big test of the season. tignes.net
12–13 World Cup, Levi, Finland
The World Cup 2016 tour gets underway on the glacier in Solden, Austria in late October but moves north for its next stage on the Levi Black slope at Lapland’s largest ski centre.
17 Opening Day, Obergurgl, Austria
Austria’s highest traditional village is usually the first non-glacier resort in the Alps to open, although in recent years Kitzbuhel has managed to open first; Obergurgl often has top to bottom snow cover for opening day though.
25–27 Ski Test, Zermatt, Switzerland
Zermatt, open for snow sports year round, offers ski test packages on weekends through October and November, with the final chance to test 2017 season equipment before everyone else this weekend.
26 Clauwau, Samnaun, Switzerland
Before Santa gets really busy in four weeks’ time there’s the annual Santa Claus World Championships to consider on Switzerland’s eastern border at duty free Samnaun.
26 FIS Men’s Downhill, Lake Louise, Canada
Only a fortnight after its planned opening date it’s time for the first full World Cup downhill race of the season, due to take place in the Canadian Rockies.
