
Wurmberg stands as northern Germany's largest ski resort, offering 15km of varied terrain across the beautiful Harz Mountains. Rising to 971m, this impressive destination combines excellent intermediate slopes with dedicated learning areas and challenging forest runs. Despite its relatively modest altitude, Wurmberg delivers reliable skiing throughout winter thanks to substantial snowmaking investments, providing genuine mountain experiences just hours from major northern cities.
Wurmberg spreads 16 runs across 12.2 km of piste of terrain. It leans beginner at 82%, with 13 beginner runs to find your feet and 1 advanced or expert run when you want to push.
Wurmberg typically operates from December through March, with the most reliable conditions in January and February. The resort has invested heavily in snowmaking technology, with extensive coverage ensuring consistent skiing regardless of natural snowfall patterns. The Harz Mountains microclimate often delivers surprising powder days, particularly during cold easterly weather patterns. The comprehensive grooming fleet maintains excellent piste conditions throughout the winter, even during challenging weather periods.
Located in Lower Saxony approximately 120km from Hannover and 170km from Leipzig, Wurmberg offers exceptional accessibility for northern Germany's population centers. The resort sits adjacent to the historic town of Braunlage, providing extensive accommodation and dining options. This central location within the Harz Mountains makes it an ideal destination for weekend trips and longer winter holidays. The surrounding Harz National Park offers additional winter activities including extensive cross-country skiing, winter hiking, and historic mining towns showcasing authentic northern German traditions.
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Wurmberg's season typically runs from January 11 to March 9, roughly 57 days, weather and conditions permitting.
Wurmberg has about 12.2 km of piste across 16 runs.
Wurmberg operates 6 lifts in total.
Wurmberg averages around 74 inches (6.2 feet) of snowfall per season.

Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.

South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.

Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.

La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.

The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.

Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.

Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.

Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.