J2Ski's Where to Ski in September 2024
J2Ski's Where to Ski in September 2024
Published : 01-Sep-2024 07:21
A reducing number of ski areas in Australia and New Zealand will be open through September, whilst those in Argentina and Chile are mostly in good (if not excellent) shape as they start the month.
Kids ski free in Portillo, Chile, in September so if you needed an excuse... there you go!
Where to Ski in September 2024
We're into meteorological springtime in the southern hemisphere as September starts, and meteorological autumn/fall in the northern. Spring and autumn/fall by the astronomical season measure will be here soon too, three weeks into the month - so in other words it is all change.
The first country/continent to close its skiing for 2024, Lesotho and southern Africa have already closed and most resorts in Australia, New Zealand and South America will join them by the end of this month, although a few will continue into early October. But September is definitely season wind down month for the south.
In the northern hemisphere, snowfalls on the highest slopes at the end of August in western North America and in Europe remind us that, yes, winter is coming!
Southern Hemisphere
Australia
It definitely feels like the final weeks of the season in Australia after a slightly lacklustre season was saved from being a bad one by metre snowfalls in mid-July.
Since then there have been more light snowfalls but warm August temperatures have led to bases dropping and terrain available dramatically decreasing too.
Several centres including Mount Baw Baw, Mount Buller and Selwyn, have closed altogether due to snow shortages.
There is cold forecast for early September but it looks like it will be short lived and after that things are only moving in one direction.
Some remaining centres will close three weeks into the month as planned, others like the largest Perisher, which has 25km of slopes open at the start of the month, the second most in the world, will hope to stay open until the start of October.
New Zealand
New Zealand hasn't had the best of seasons, with warmer temperatures than they'd like, and gales a frequent problem as well.
That said as we start September for some of the bigger commercial centres like Mount Hutt and Cardrona conditions are about the best they've been with base depths above 2 metres on higher runs and everything open.
Most ski areas will hopefully remain like that through September.
Unfortunately, ski centres on Mount Ruapehu, particularly Whakapapa, which is often the last in the southern hemisphere to close each season in late October or even early November, have had a very poor season to date and very little is still open, so it is not looking great, without a big improvement over the coming month, for a late season end there.
South America
Ski areas in Argentina and Chile are into their final month of what has been one of the best seasons for many years. B
Beginning early back in May after the biggest autumn snowfalls in 20+ years, it has stayed consistently cold and snowy for much of the past three months and resorts like Argentina's Las Lenas are posting the world's deepest snowpack at present, at over 3m, whilst Catedral to the north has the most terrain open of any centre on the planet, around 100km of slopes.
Chilean areas like Valle Nevado and Portillo are also posting very healthy stats.
Most South American ski areas will probably close (unless seasons are extended) about three weeks into September as is traditional, with just a few making it into October.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa's 2024 season at Afriski in Lesotho ended at the close of August so there's nowhere open there now until 2025.
Europe
Alps
September begins with four glacier areas open, or intending to be; Austria's Hintertux – although it has been closed for much of August due to warm weather; Switzerland's Saas Fee and Zermatt (also accessible from Italy's Cervinia) and Passo Stelvio in Italy.
All being well, all will remain open through the month and they'll be joined on the final weekend by Austria's Solden on the 27th and the Pitztal Glacier on the 28th. That does depend on conditions improving though and currently, there's not too much to get excited about with temperatures above freezing most days on the glaciers.
There have though been some signs of winter creeping in at the highest altitudes so we just need them to creep lower and do so more consistently over the next few weeks!
Scandinavia
There's nowhere expected to be open in Scandinavia in September although Norway's Galdhopiggen summer ski area, with the region's highest lifts, is on a temporary closure through the hottest months and plans to reopen when cold enough, which could potentially be towards the end of this month.
In Finland, Levi and Ruka ski areas plan to open at the start of October for their 7-month 24-25 seasons using snow saved ('farmed') in huge stockpiles from last winter spread back out on the slopes, that process will begin towards the end of September.
North America
September is the only month when there's nowhere expected to be open in North America.
That may still be the case in October but several resorts including Colorado's Arapahoe Basin and Keystone hope to open before the end of that month.
There were light snowfalls high in the Rockies and California's Sierras at the end of August but that doesn't always translate to continuing cold weather through the month.
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