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Latest in Aspen
Aspen Highlands Triggers Major Spring Avalanche in Highland Bowl
Ski patrol triggered a sizeable wet loose avalanche in Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands in late April, with the slide captured on camera from Aspen Mountain's Sundeck Restaurant. The controlled avalanche suggests Highland Bowl won't reopen this season.
Michael Fulton
Aspen Highlands Files 10-Year Plan With New Gondola and Lift Upgrades to Tackle Congestion
Aspen Highlands has submitted its 2025 Master Development Plan to the Forest Service, outlining a decade of proposed upgrades including a two-stage gondola, a new mid-mountain chairlift, and dining expansions. Nothing is approved yet, but the vision is worth knowing about.
Michael Fulton
Aspen Occupancy Down 5.5% as International Boycotts and Weak Snowfall Hit Bookings
Aspen's winter season is tracking 5.5% behind last year through January, with Australian tour operators reporting boycotts related to US politics and a 30% drop in American bookings. Hotels are maintaining revenue by raising rates, but the combination of political sentiment, unfavourable exchange rates, and Colorado's poor early-season snowfall has dampened what's typically the resort's strongest period for international visitors.
Michael Fulton
Aspen's Chalet Alpina: Another Ultra-Luxury Development in a Saturated Market
Construction of Chalet Alpina, a new luxury hotel and residential complex, is underway at Aspen Snowmass. While promising high-end amenities and ski-in/ski-out access, it raises questions about affordability and the future direction of this already exclusive ski town.
Michael Fulton
American Airlines Boosts Flights to Major Ski Resorts for 2025-26 Season
American Airlines announces new routes and expanded services to popular ski destinations for the 2025-26 winter season, including Sun Valley, Santa Fe, and Aspen.
Michael Fulton
Aspen Snowmass Invests $80 Million in Resort Upgrades
Aspen Snowmass announces major improvements for the 2025-26 season, including new lifts at Snowmass, lodge renovations, and resort-wide enhancements to elevate the skiing experience.
Michael Fulton
Winter Park's $37 Million Snowmaking Upgrade Extends Ski Season
Winter Park Resort has invested $37 million in snowmaking upgrades, enabling earlier openings and later closings. The investment aims to extend the ski season, with the resort now boasting one of the longest seasons in Colorado.
Michael Fulton
Latest News
More from the SnowStash desk
FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.
4 Sept 2026
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026
Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.
4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season
Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.
2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6
We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.
1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028
Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.
31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured
An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.
28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do
A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.
27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September
Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.
26 Aug 2026