For the first time in two years, there are ski resorts open across six of the globe’s seven continents. Ironically, the continent with the most snow and ice, Antarctica, is the only continent without an operating ski resort.
Corralco in Chile opened yesterday, kicking off winter and making South America the sixth continent with resort skiing available.ย Elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, some ski fields in Australia and New Zealand have been open for a couple of weeks or so now. And in southern Africa, Afriski in Lesotho has lifts spinning.
In the northern hemisphere, where it is currently summer, there are a number of glacial resorts open in Europe.ย Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, OR, is defying the current heatwave hitting the Pacific Northwest and representing North America.
But what about Asia, I hear you say? Gassan in Japan is keeping their winter alive. They opened on April 13th and typically stay open through mid to late July.
A continent is one of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven regions are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Variations with fewer continents may merge some of these, for example, some systems include Eurasia or America as single continents.