Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #258

• Australia Closing: Most resorts shut this weekend; only Perisher stays open.
• New Zealand Mixed: Fresh snow and winds; most slopes open.
• Argentina Freeze-Thaw: Resorts open with avalanche risk.
• Chile Stable: Snow depths steady; sunny weather forecasted.
• Southern Africa Done: Ski season ended last month.

INTRODUCTION:

Spring is making its presence felt across southern hemisphere ski slopes, though some regions are more affected. Australia is experiencing the most sunshine and warm temperatures, with afternoon highs in double digits Celsius, severely impacting the remaining snowpack.

Only four resorts are open, each with less than 10% of their runs available, and three plan to close by Sunday. In New Zealand, the situation is more varied. While one resort has closed, colder and snowier weather has allowed most commercial centres to maintain decent snow depths and keep most runs open.

In South America, classic freeze-thaw conditions prevail, with overnight lows below freezing and daytime highs around +10°C. The sunny weather brings an end-of-season atmosphere and a significant avalanche risk, rated 3 out of 5.

The season finished in Southern Africa at the end of last month.

AUSTRALIA REPORT:

With most of Australia’s centres closing last week, just four are soldiering on, but the hope of making it into the latter half of September, let alone the start of October, has now been lost for all but one. Thredbo, Falls Creek, and Australia’s highest centre, Charlotte Pass, announced their seasons will end this weekend. Temperatures have been dropping a few degrees below freezing overnight, but daytime highs of +10 to +15°C with no improvement in sight have signalled the end of the surviving snowpacks.

Falls Creek (10/20cm / 4/8”) will close on Friday, September 13th; Charlotte Pass and Thredbo (10/66cm / 4/26”) on Sunday, September 15th. All are down to just 4-8% of their slopes left open for their final days. They join other Aussie areas already closed early, including Mt Buller, Hotham, and Selwyn Resort.

“What a winter we’ve had at Falls Creek! From perfect snowmaking conditions throughout the early season to an 80cm snowfall week, powder days, and so much great skiing and boarding, winter 2024 has been memorable. Mother Nature has had her plans this season, which has resulted in a decline in snow conditions, meaning our lift operations will finish on Friday, 13 September," a resort statement on Sunday reads.

This means that only Perisher (30/60cm / 12/24”) is expected to be open as of next week. It’s down to about 10% of its terrain remaining open.

AUSTRALIA FORECAST

As the latest resorts to announce their closures pointed out in explaining their thinking, the forecast for the coming days shows little change. Mostly sunny weather continues, with temperatures generally dipping a few degrees below freezing overnight but climbing up to +10C or higher in the afternoons.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

It’s been a mixed week again for New Zealand. The final days up to last weekend saw some fabulous conditions with several snowfall days, resulting in 48-hour totals of up to 30cm (12”) of fresh powder for some centres. Then the wind dropped, and the skies cleared. However, the violent gales that have plagued operations over the past month or two were back by the weekend.

Despite the fresh snowfall, the rain and gales of recent weeks had done too much damage to the underlying base, and Porters Alpine Resort announced with 24 hours’ notice that last Friday was to be their last day of the 2024 season, stating that "recent winds and rain have taken their toll on our snowpack."

For most commercial centres, though, things remain fully open, and there are perfect blue sky days, such as most areas reported on Sunday, between the windy, rainy spells. Mt Hutt (92/218cm / 37/87”) is one of those, reporting its slopes 100% open and also one of the deepest snowpacks in the world at present.

Alas, over on the North Island, Mt Ruapehu’s Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas continue to suffer from very little snowfall this season, and consequently, minimal terrain is open. Volcanic activity danger levels for Ruapehu have also increased slightly, although still low; there’s now a 1.5km exclusion zone around the crater, which doesn’t include the open ski slopes, which are further away.

to be NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

It’s looking pretty cold for the season's final days, with temperatures in the +5 to -10 range. Some significant snowfall is possible over the next few days, although it could rain on lower slopes, at least at times.

ARGENTINA REPORT

Argentina is gradually becoming more springlike, with temperatures ranging between -6 and +10°C over the past week. There have been a few light rain, sleet, and snow showers, depending on the time of day and elevation, but mostly dry and often sunny weather across the country's ski slopes.

Currently, most centres remain fully open or nearly so, and base depths are holding up. Cerro Catedral (50/180cm / 20/72") near Bariloche continues to post the most terrain open of any single centre in the world, with about 100km (63 miles) of slopes still available, which is about 85% of its maximum terrain. Las Leñas (120/280cm / 48/112") to the south has dropped to about 70% of its slopes open.

Chapelco (55/330cm / 22/132") is posting the thickest snowpack in the world on its upper slopes. The avalanche danger is currently significant, rated three on a scale of five, with a Scottish woman killed in a weekend avalanche near Catedral.

Most Argentinian ski areas have 2-4 weeks of their 2024 seasons left to run.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

Most parts of Argentina look increasingly sunny for the latter half of this week. Under the clear skies, overnight lows are still dipping below freezing, but daytime highs are hitting +10C or higher at resort bases in the afternoon, which will hit snowpacks. These are classic freeze-thaw conditions.

CHILE REPORT

There’s little change from a week ago in Chile, with base depths largely holding firm—they are not reported to be increasing or decreasing much as snow showers are offset by thawing during daytime high periods now reaching +10C. 

Most centres remain either fully operational or close to it, though Portillo and Valle Nevado (1670/190cm / 64/76") are among those still reporting their slopes and lists 100% open.

The Tre Valles area east of the capital Santiago continues to have the most open terrain, with about 110km (68 miles) of slopes open between Valle Nevado and neighbours La Parva (180/290cm / 72/116”) and El Colorado (60/135cm / 24 44”), the most in one area in the world at present.

CHILE FORECAST

Almost all areas have a sunny forecast for the rest of the week. Overnight lows on high slopes are still well below freezing, but daytime highs reaching double figures will continue to impact the snowpack.