It’s September, it has already been snowing in August in the alps and over across the Atlantic in the rockies, so it’s OK to get EXCITED that the new ski season is not far away.
Infact most of the summer glacier ski areas have closed after summer 2016 and from the first weekend in September glacier areas start opening (or re-opening) for the run down to winter 2016-17, so the game is afoot!
In the southern hemisphere September is the start of the end, but there’s been fresh snow there in the past week too, so it could be a good last few weeks.
Austria
September is when Austrian skiing comes in to its own with the two ski centres that are already open and joined by another six glacier areas – giving Austria as many open glacier areas at the start of October as the rest of the northern hemisphere put together. Hintertux (pictured above last month) and Molltal glaciers are open already, they should be joined (conditions permitting) by Solden, Kaunertal, Pitztal, Dachstein and Kitzsteinhorn from mid-September and the Stubai at the end of the month.
France – there are no French ski areas known to be open in September – Tignes will re-open on October 1st.
Italy
Cervinia (above) is finishing its summer skiing as of Sunday 4th but will re-open next month. In the meantime Val Senales is due to open for autumn glacier skiing the same weekend and Passo Stelvio is still open from 7am to noon daily.
Switzerland
Saas Fee and Zermatt are the two Swiss centres open through September. These neighbouring resorts have siome of the highest slopes in Europe and are a good bet for some September snowfall. Saas Fee has extended its opening hours by an hour in to the afternoon for September.
Norway
Norway’s glacier ski areas have had fresh snow in August (Fonna pictured above) leading to amazing conditioons considering it was mid-summer. Fonna is due to end its season on the first Sunday of September but Galdhoppigen is normally open through September.
North America
Only one ski area in North America is open as we enter September – Timberline on Mt Hood in Oregon operates its snowfield almost year round. The centre has several ski training areas and a terrain park. It normally does close for a few weeks in September for annual maintenance but has nbot published dates as yet.
Southern Hemisphere
Australia
(Mt Buller pictured top, Perisher above)
September is when the season winds down in Australia and most areas will be closed by the end of the month. As we enter it though things look good with base depths across the country varying from 50cm (Selwyyn Snowfields) to 1.6m (Perisher and Thredbo), and with fresh snow falling through august including in the last few days of the month.
New Zealand
Most ski areas in New Zealand stay open in to early October, longer than other southern hemisphere nations. It has been a mostly snowy August there so, after a shaky start to the season, September is looking good across the country and fresh snow is still falling as we start the month. Most resorts have at least a metre of snow lying, at Mt Ruapehu it’s more than two metres.
Argentina
Argentina winds down its 2016 ski season in September. After a promising start it has not been one of the best but all main areas are currently open and there have beenm intermittant snowfalls through August. Most have bases around the 1m mark, Las Lenas the deepest at 1.5m/5 feet.
Chile
It’s the final two or three weeks of the season at most ski areas in Chile too. Cponditions are remarkably similar to New Zealand across the Pacific with most areas having at least a metre of snow cover and fresh snow in late August. Valle Nevado (Photo above by Nils Schlebusch) has the deepest snow base reported in ther southern hemiusphere in 2016 so far at 2.8m – nearly 10 feet.
The 2016 season is over in Southern Africa after a snowy August in Tiffindell, South Africa and Afriski, Lesotho (below)
