J2Ski Snow Report - September 4th 2025
J2Ski Snow Report - September 4th 2025
Published : 04-Sep-2025 06:12
Hotham Alpine Resort, Australia was quite the picture this week...
Early September brings heavy snowfall and record bases in Australia, fresh snow in New Zealand and the Alps, while South Africa's season ends and the northern hemisphere looks ahead to winter.
The Snow Headlines - September 4th
- Australian ski areas receive more than 60 cm/2 feet of snowfall.
- Fresh snowfall ends August and meteorological summertime in the high Alps.
- 2025 season over in Lesotho, Southern Africa.
- Perisher tops 2 m/6.5 feet snow base, deepest in the world at present.
- Less than a month to the start of Finland's 25-26 season.
Snow forecast for Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.
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World Overview
The start of September means autumn is here by meteorological standards, while it is springtime in the southern hemisphere. There are only three or four weeks left in the season for most ski areas south of the equator. Conditions in several of these countries have been wintery rather than springlike. This has been particularly true in Australia, where "the storm of the season" has brought accumulations of up to 90 cm/3 feet, with resorts surpassing the 2 m/6.5 feet base mark, now the deepest in the world. New Zealand also enjoyed a good week with plenty of fresh snowfall. In contrast, South America has been quieter after last week's heavy snowfalls, and the 2025 season has ended in Southern Africa, with Lesotho's Afriski concluding winter sports last Sunday.
In the northern hemisphere, the start of meteorological autumn brings anticipation for the 25-26 season. A dusting of fresh snow above 2500 m/8202 feet in the Alps has contributed to this excitement. Snowfall has also been reported in Alaska and parts of northern Canada, where trees are starting to change colour at higher altitudes. Only three glacier areas remain open in the Alps, but more centres are expected to open later this month.
Southern Hemisphere
Australia
Australia's ski fields have enjoyed a stellar week, with a multi-day storm dropping 70–80 cm/27–31 inches of fresh snow across most resorts.
Hotham saw standout totals, reaching 77 cm/30 inches by Saturday with deep drifts and a season-high base of 165 cm/65 inches. Perisher surged to a 210 cm/83 inches upper base—now the deepest in the world—overtaking Switzerland's Saas Fee and boasting the most open terrain globally.
Despite predictions of a mild winter, some ski areas in Australia have now recorded over 3.5 m/11.5 feet of snowfall this season, outperforming the Andes and New Zealand. With all areas open and spring events underway, September promises superb late-season skiing.
New Zealand
New Zealand experienced a solid snowstorm late last week, with South Island resorts reporting accumulations of 15–30 cm/6–12 inches, although strong winds led to storm closures at times.
Cardrona and Treble Cone were among the big winners. Conditions have been mixed with light snow, gusty winds, and sunny spells.
Mount Hutt continues to post the deepest base in the country at over 1.6 m/5.2 feet. Like most South Island resorts, it reports 85–95% of its runs open.
On the North Island, Whakapapa and Turoa on Mount Ruapehu have seen cold temperatures, deepening bases and are both about a third open after a slow start to the season.
Argentina
Snow conditions across Argentina remain mixed as the season winds down.
Last week brought up to 75 cm/30 inches of snowfall, but this has not significantly boosted terrain openings or base depths.
Cerro Castor near Ushuaia continues to lead with 95 cm/37 inches at the top and strong coverage across most slopes. Las Leñas saw a solid dump, improving off-piste options, though groomed terrain remains around 50% open.
Catedral Alta Patagonia continues to struggle, with less than 10% of slopes open.
Weather has been unsettled, with light snow, cloud cover, and freezing temperatures at altitude keeping conditions largely unchanged.
Chile
Conditions continue to look better on Chilean slopes than they do over the border, as they have all season.
Chile's Andes are enjoying a strong spell as the final weeks of the season approach, thanks to storm totals last week reaching 90 cm/35 inches, leaving most of the country's resorts now 80–100% open.
With 1.8 m/5.9 feet lying at the top, Valle Nevado leads South America for snow depth, with fully open slopes and packed powder reported. Portillo has slightly less snow lying, with 90% of its slopes open.
Nevados de Chillán further south saw wetter snowfall.
Since last week's significant falls, conditions have varied with sun, cloud, and light snow showers, increasingly clearing for the latter half of this week.
Northern Hemisphere
The Alps
Neighbouring Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland continue to have the most terrain open in the northern hemisphere with around 14 km/8.7 miles of high-altitude slopes on their glaciers.
The only other European area currently open is Passo Stelvio in Italy, with around half that much skiing available.
The Hintertux glacier remains temporarily closed but plans to re-open this month, with several more Austrian glaciers set to open later in the month, along with Italy's Val Senales.
Conditions have felt more autumnal and at times even wintery with snow flurries at higher altitudes, where the freezing point is between 2500 m/8202 feet and 3500 m/11483 feet.
Scandinavia
Currently, there are no open ski areas in Scandinavia, as the Galdhopiggen summer ski centre, which aims to be open from spring to autumn, is closed due to warm weather and thin cover, despite some fresh snowfall in recent weeks. It is due to reopen in a fortnight, followed by the first centres opening in Finland, thanks to snow farming, Ruka and Levi, at the start of October.
Canada & USA
Since Oregon's timberline closed a few weeks ago, lift-served skiing in North America remains limited to the indoor Big Snow centre in New Jersey.
Outdoors, Copper Mountain's hike-to terrain park in Colorado wraps up its final weekend of public access this coming Sunday.
Cooler temperatures are setting in, with autumn colours emerging at higher elevations and light snowfall reported on northern Canadian peaks. No new openings are expected through September, but snowmaking should begin in the Rockies by month's end if temperatures drop at the usual rate.
Keystone hopes to launch its season in mid-October, while Copper has confirmed a target opening date of 7th November.
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