Chile’s 2024 Ski Season Underway

Three Chilean ski areas are reported to have opened for their 2024 seasons this weekend, probably meaning that the southern hemisphere’s 2024 season is up and running. 

These areas are opening about a month earlier that the normal start of the season in mid-late June but come as the Andes have seen consistent cold temperatures and early heavy snowfalls through May.

Corralco reports it already has snow lying 1,2m (four feet) deep on its higher slopes and that it has more than half of its slopes open. Nevados de Chillan and Antillanca are the other two centres to have opened early.

Last weekend Argentina’s largest ski area by uplift, Catedral, opened limited terrain for locals after huge snowfalls there, but it has since closed again. Some of the recently opened Chilean centres may also close midweek, but others plan to stay open every day from now on.

“We want to thank everyone who visited us today and enjoyed a great day of skiing with us. We’re working to improve every aspect of the Antillean experience so we can bring you the best 2024 season possible. This is why these early opening weekends allow us to better prepare for the season that is ready to officially start. We'll continue to open weekends, preparing at full speed for the official opening of the season on June 20^th,” a spokesperson for Antillanca said on Sunday.

The start of the 2024 season is currently looking better and better in the Andes, another huge front is moving in over the next few days potentially bringing more than a metre more snowfall to some areas by the middle of the coming week.

Elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere there’s been cold and snowy weather reported this weekend in New Zealand and Australia, with the latter firing up snowmaking systems too with the season start 3 weeks away. Lesotho’s Afriski in Southern Africa has the earliest official opening date though, less than a fortnight away on June 1^st.