Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #253

From Argentina to Australia: The Best Global Ski Conditions Right Now

• New Zealand saw significant snowfall of up to 60 cm, enhancing conditions and allowing most major ski areas to fully open, although some smaller resorts still lack enough snow.
• South America continues to lead with the deepest snowpacks and the most terrain open, despite recent heavy snow reducing terrain temporarily at some resorts.
• Australia is seeing mostly dry conditions but has maintained excellent snow coverage from late July, with Perisher and Thredbo offering extensive open terrain and a large number of lifts operational.

WORLD OVERVIEW

New Zealand has reported the biggest snowfalls of the past week, with some centres on the South Island receiving up to 60 cm (2 feet) in total, greatly improving conditions. However, it is not a universal picture. Conditions in Australia remain much improved after the big falls of late July, although there hasn't been much more snow this week. South American areas continue their great 2024 season with more snow this week, and this is where resorts have the most terrain open and are reporting the world's deepest snowpacks. There remain four centers open in the Alps and one in the U.S. in the Northern Hemisphere. It's been very warm at altitude again, so snowpacks and open terrain continue to diminish. However, the turn in the year’s weather is nearing, and several more glaciers aim to open for their 24-25 seasons in less than two months. In Scandinavia, two glacier areas (Fonna and Galdhøpiggen) have been closed to the public but remain open for race team training. Two resorts in Finland, Levi and Ruka, plan to open for their 24-25 seasons in less than two months, starting in October.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE INTRO

The big news from the Southern Hemisphere continues to be the significant snowfalls in New Zealand, which were getting underway as we published last week's report. These were the first big falls of the 2024 winter, nearly halfway through the season, and they have been something of a game-changer, allowing centers to fully open at last and taking bases past the meter mark. It's not a universal picture, though, with still not enough snowfall for some smaller resorts to open at all. Up to 60 cm (24") was reported, but some areas only received 15 cm (6"). Over in Australia, resorts are still building on snowfalls from the last weeks of July that brought over a meter of cover and had a similarly transformative effect on the season, with most now fully open or nearly so. There was not much fresh snowfall this week, but low temperatures allowed for plenty of snowmaking. In South America, the very snowy start to the season nearly two months ago continues to mean most centers are fully open, and after a largely dry July, there was some fresh snow over the past week.

AUSTRALIA REPORT

Australia’s improved conditions continued through last week after the big snowfalls of late July. It has been mostly dry and frequently sunny, but overnight lows of -5°C or a bit colder allowed snowmaking systems to keep pumping out the white stuff, reinforcing the natural-snow bolstered bases. “Freezing cold temperatures and low humidity = 80+ hours of snowmaking this week!” a spokesperson for Falls Creek (50/92 cm / 20/37”) said on Saturday, adding, “Our crew have been working whenever temps allow to produce snow across the mountain, topping up the awesome natural snowfall we've had in resort! With more snowstorms on the way and so much terrain now open, we're in for snow much fun this August.” The resort is very close to 100% open, with around 48 km (30 miles) of runs available. There have indeed been some snowfalls, although light, over the last few days. Perisher (60/125 cm / 24/50”), as the largest, has the most terrain open in Australia and New Zealand, even at about 85% of its runs available—that’s some 56 km (35 miles) of slopes—as well as the deepest reported base. It’s just ahead of Thredbo (52/124 cm / 31/49”). Perisher reported on Saturday that it had all 46 of its lifts open for the first time in two years, having opened its Olympic T-Bar, which last ran in 2022. “Seeing the passion of the Olympians flying the flag overseas has spurred us on to get out and enjoy what we love doing—skiing and snowboarding at Australia’s largest ski resort, Perisher,” said Maddi Ventura, Perisher's Marketing Manager, on Saturday. Other Aussie areas are generally 80-90% open, with Selwyn reporting that 100% of its terrain is skiable. Mt Buller (52/98 cm / 21/38”) still has some way to go, though, with just under half of its runs open. But that’s much better still than the less than 5% a fortnight ago before the snow arrived, and it’s still opening more terrain, announcing on Sunday, “It's the best cover we've had all season. Wombat and Bull Run lifts are open, and the snow depth is going up. It’s time to unlock a few long turns on Little Buller and savour the magic of mid-season moments.”

AUSTRALIA FORECAST

It looks like conditions will remain predominantly dry with more sunny days and some periods of clouds. Still cold overnight, with -7°C possible, enabling snowmaking systems to continue firing. Daytime highs are getting a little warm at low elevations, potentially +8/+9°C at the warmest point of the day.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

New Zealand is reporting great conditions after the snowfalls there transformed the picture at many of the country’s centres. Up to 60 cm (24”) was reported, mostly falling on the South Island between Monday and Wednesday and then on the North Island over the following day or two. Snowfall totals did vary, of course, and the main South Island ski area yet to open for the season, Temple Basin, reported it still didn't get enough to change that, unfortunately. Broken River also reported on Tuesday that it was forced to close again until more snowfall arrives. But for most of the larger, commercial ski fields, there were fabulous conditions waiting with deep fresh snow under blue skies when they reopened from Thursday onwards. The fresh snow allowed most of them to open 90-100% of their terrain, having had only 40-70% open in June and July, and saw the first reported upper slope snow depths top the meter (40") mark this year. The weather turned fine on the South Island from Thursday onwards, with temperatures mostly in the -6 to +4°C range. Mt Dobson (80/120 cm / 32/48”) had the deepest reported base as it reopened for the weekend last Friday, having spent much of the previous week closed as the storm blew through. Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu on the North Island is still struggling to open much terrain, despite some fresh snowfall this week. Staff there have been labouring with shovels in places to try to get snow cover adequate to open more lifts and runs.

NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

Staying cold, with overnight lows down as far as -9°C, so snowmaking systems continue to fire up, but there's currently not much more than light snowfalls in the forecast. Daytime highs are only a few degrees above freezing.

ARGENTINA REPORT

It’s been a snowy week in Argentina, where ski centers were already posting the world’s deepest snowpack and the largest single areas of open lift-served terrain at present. All the snowfall, with associated low visibility and higher avalanche risk, led to a decrease in the amount of terrain available for a time. Catedral (40/160 cm / 16/64”), for example, which had been posting the most terrain open in the world (100 km/63 miles) before the latest storm, dropped to half that, only 50 km (31 miles), falling behind Australia’s Perisher at the weekend. Las Leñas (130/310 cm / 52/124”) and Chapelco (106/322 cm / 43/129”) are the only two ski areas in the world at present posting base depths of more than three meters/10 feet.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

The heavy snowfall has been petering out over the last few days and is expected to stop altogether in most places in the latter half of this week. It will stay cold, though, under clear skies, with overnight lows expected to drop as low as -15°C overnight, and daytime highs remaining a few degrees below freezing in many areas too.

CHILE REPORT

It’s been a cold week with frequent snow showers, sometimes heavy, for Chile’s ski areas. Temperatures have rarely gotten above freezing, with lows down as far as -15°C and daytime highs only +3°C at times. Most of the country’s centers remain fully open (or almost so), with Nevados de Chillán (140/250 cm / 56/100") posting the deepest cover and more than 95% of its slopes open. The Tres Valles linked area east of the capital Santiago continues to post the most open terrain in the world, with Valle Nevado (60/135 cm / 24/54") now 100% open, and El Colorado (60/135 cm / 24/54") and La Parva (90/145 cm / 36/56") both a little more than 80% open for about 110 km (68 miles) of runs between the three of them. Portillo (106/174 cm / 43/70”) is one of the centres reporting their slopes 100% open.

CHILE FORECAST

Skies look set to clear in most areas for the rest of this week, but temperatures should stay low, rarely getting above freezing, with lows around -10°C and highs a degree or two below freezing.

SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT

The normal sunny weather for southern Africa saw daytime temperatures reach +12°C at Afriski (15/15 cm / 6”/6”) in Lesotho. However, overnight lows continue to dip below freezing, so we’re seeing temperatures down as low as -8°C and a re-freeze of the snowpack each night, plus temperatures low enough for snowmaking as required. But we're into the final four weeks of the season now, which is due to end at the end of the month. The main run, nursery, and terrain park areas all remain fully open.

SOUTHERN AFRICA FORECAST

More sunny skies are expected for the week ahead, with temperatures remaining in the -5 to +10°C range.