Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #262

Chapelco Closes with World’s Deepest Snowpack as Argentina’s Season Ends

• New Zealand ski resorts see a mix of spring warmth and late-season snow, with top resorts like Cardrona and The Remarkables maintaining over 90% terrain open.
• Argentina's 2024 ski season officially ends, with Chapelco closing after having the world’s deepest snowpack at over 3 meters.
• In Chile, despite closures, standout resorts like Valle Nevado and Corralco are still open with fresh snow and season extensions into October.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

Unsurprisingly, as we approach the halfway point of meteorological springtime, warmer temperatures are dominating in New Zealand, and overnight freezes are becoming less common. More centers closed at the weekend, and some of the centers still operating had closure days due to rain and sleet impacting cover or strong winds again. But Tuesday saw some good snowfalls, a great boost for the final few days of the season for some of the centers still operating. Generally, though, it's classic spring conditions, with the best conditions on clear days usually first thing. Cardrona (40/116cm / 16/46”) still reports more than 90% of its slopes open, as does The Remarkables (62/227cm / 25/89”), which is now posting the deepest snowpack of any open ski center in the world. Mt. Hutt (60/174cm / 24/174”) is also still operating at least until the end of the coming weekend, although it was temporarily closed at the start of this week. On the North Island, Whakapapa (0/40cm / 0/16”) remains open daily, although with only a few kilometers of slopes open, while its fellow Mt. Ruapehu center Tūroa (27/120cm / 11/48”) has moved to a weekend opening model, Fridays to Sundays, for the final weeks. Both are aiming to stay open into the latter half of the month and are currently enjoying some of the best conditions of a challenging season.

NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

It’s forecast to become warmer and drier through the latter half of this week, with much more sunshine and temperatures in the -3°C to +9°C range.

ARGENTINA REPORT

The 2024 season is believed to be over everywhere in Argentina now, with the last center that had still been open, and posting the world’s deepest snowpack at over 3m/10 feet, Chapelco, closing on Sunday. Ski touring season does continue, however, although tourers are being warned of the current high avalanche danger in many areas.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

Sunny weather, in fact, wall-to-wall sunshine in the north with temperatures in the –2 to +15°C range. More mixed conditions with rain, sleet, and snow showers and a few degrees cooler further south.

CHILE REPORT

Chile’s season continues to wind down, but temperatures have been pretty cool, into the -6 to +8°C range, and there has been fresh snowfall for some centers to start this week. More have been closing, but Valle Nevado (35/150cm / 14/60”) remains the standout choice after its epic season for snowfall, with its two-week season extension taking it to at least October 20th, all being well. Corralco (80/170cm / 32/68”) also remains open, in its case until this coming Sunday. A third option, Antillanca (60/120cm / 24/48”), is now closed midweek but plans to reopen for a final weekend this coming October 12th and 13th. The ski touring season is also well underway in Chile, with the snow still lying deep in many areas from the huge spring snowfalls back in May and June.

CHILE FORECAST

It’s a predominantly sunny picture across Chile for the week ahead, with temperatures in the -5 to +20°C range, although some days it won’t get below freezing even on higher slopes overnight. There is a front moving through towards the end of the week, bringing a temperature dip and the chance of 5-10cm (2-4”) of snowfall.