Has the 2018 – 19 Ski Season Already Started?
The news that the Swiss ski resort of Saas Fee has re-opened for snowsports on its glacier today less than three months after closing its 2017-18 ski season in April set us wondering when does one ski season end and the new one begin?
Some ski areas are open all year round – the Hintertux glacier in Austria (below) and Zermatt in Switzerland for example, but most resorts, even those with far longer than average ski seasons, open in late autumn then close in early spring.
So that main season is pretty obvious. But several ski areas that opened in early autumn last year – the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Austria or Timberline on Mt Hood in Oregon are STILL open for their 2017-18 seasons. They’ll close for a short while this summer before re-opening for their 2018-19 seasons.
Some, like Whistler, Cervinia or Tignes (below) have been open since last autumn, closed for a bit in early spring and have re-opened for summer. They’ll then close again before their 18-19 seasons get underway in autumn again.
But Saas Fee has been closed and from today on is open right through to April next year. So its 18-19 season has started.
It’s not the first to be able to claim that though. The Molltal glacier closed in May but re-opened a month ago in mid-June (Pictured top) for its even longer 11 month 2018-19 season.
So was it first or do we say Saas Fee is because it has started its season after midsummer, and the astronomical change in the seasons, with the days progressively getting shorter? Or doesn’t that matter?
Actually, does any of it matter, so long as we can go skiing somewhere anytime?
A few final candidates to mention. Half a dozen European glacier resorts will most likely open in September, thanks to their glaciers, so as that’s also the start of Autumn it’s perhaps a stronger candidate for ‘start of the season’ with more resorts opening.
Or do we wait to October when ski areas without glaciers, perhaps relying on snow farming, like Ruka (uncovering its stored snow last autumn in the picture below) in Finland and Kitzbuhel or their high altitude and snowmaking like A Basin in Colorado start their seasons?
