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Western U.S. Ski Resorts Close Early as Warm Weather Compounds Poor Snow Season
A heat wave hitting the western United States has forced dozens of ski resorts to close early or abandon their seasons entirely. With below-average snowpacks across the region, the warm spell has ended operations at over 40 resorts from Arizona to Montana.
Arizona Snowbowl's $10 Lift Tickets: Marketing Ploy or Genuine Value?
Arizona Snowbowl's announcement of $10 lift tickets for 2025-26 raises questions about dynamic pricing strategies and accessibility in the ski industry. We analyse the fine print and implications.
Arizona Snowbowl's $10 Lift Tickets: Marketing Ploy or Genuine Deal?
Arizona Snowbowl's announcement of $10 lift tickets for 2025-26 raises questions about the realities of demand-based pricing and its impact on skiers.
Mountain Capital Partners Invests $15M+ in Ski Resort Upgrades
Mountain Capital Partners announces over $15 million in improvements across its ski resorts following a record-breaking 2024/2025 season, with upgrades planned for Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl, Brian Head, and other properties.
Arizona Snowbowl Adds Bonus Weekend to 2024-25 Ski Season
Arizona Snowbowl extends its 2024-25 ski season with a bonus weekend from May 2-5, offering discounted lift tickets and season pass deals for the upcoming year.
Arizona Snowbowl Expands Family-Friendly Skiing with New Quad Chairlift
Arizona Snowbowl enhances its reputation as the Southwest's premier family ski resort with a new fixed-grip quad chairlift and four additional beginner trails. The upgraded Aspen Chairlift doubles uphill capacity while offering free skiing for children under 12.
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More from the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
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 Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
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.
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
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's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
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 Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
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 Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
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.
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
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.
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
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.