Industry News
In a rare meteorological phenomenon, ski resorts across multiple continents experienced fresh snowfall last week, offering rare September stoke for winter sports enthusiasts. Fresh snow touched peaks across the globe, from the Alps of Europe to the Southern Hemisphere’s dwindling ski season in New Zealand and even to the slopes of Lesotho in Africa.
While it’s not unprecedented for snow to fall simultaneously in different parts of the world, the extent of this recent snowfall is noteworthy. Ski areas in Austria, Switzerland, France, Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand reported significant accumulations, with some resorts measuring over 8″ of fresh powder. Elsewhere, ski areas in the USA and Japan reported dustings of snow on mountain peaks, while Africa’s Lesotho ski area saw over six feet. Not to be left out, snow was on the ground at skiable mountain ranges in Antarctica.
Australia
Falls Creek and Mount Hotham received over two inches on Friday, September 20, while Perisher saw just over an inch.
New Zealand
In the last week, Treble Cone ski area has seen 32″ of fresh snow (including 2″ on Monday, September 23), and there was 9″ over the weekend in Ohau.
Africa
On Friday and Saturday, September 20-21, Afriski saw 10″ of fresh snow in Lesotho, South Africa.
Europe
European resorts saw crazy amounts of summer snow last week. While lower-lying areas saw most snow melt towards the end of the week, several higher-elevation ski areas decided to kickstart the 2024-25 season early.
North America
Ski resorts across the USA and Canada, including Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming and Snowbird, Utah, shared images of fresh snow all last week.
South America
Ski areas in Argentina and Chile received up to 12″ of fresh snow last week. Valle Nevado, Chile, has had so much snow that it extended its season by two weeks.
Asia
It might not be much, but Niseko, Hokkaido, in Japan, received a dusting of fresh snow on the peak of Mount Yotei over the weekend.
Antarctica
Despite an extensive internet search, we could not confirm fresh snow in Antarctica. Also, there are no ski resorts on the continent. However, snow is on the ground in the skiable mountain ranges of Antarctica, which counts in our book.
