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New Zealand Snow Report: A Season-Starting Shot of Snow Arrives
New Zealand just got a reminder that winter means business. Coronet Peak, Mt Lyford, Mt Dobson, Mt Hutt, the Remarkables, and Treble Cone all picked up 11-12cm in the last 24 hours, with Cardrona adding 5cm. The commercial resorts are still finalising their opening dates, but snowfall like this has a way of accelerating those conversations. More snow is in the 14-day forecast - here's the full picture.
Coronet Peak Opens for the 2026 Season on 29 May, Leading New Zealand's Winter Kickoff
Coronet Peak has opened for the 2026 ski season on 29 May, making it the first major ski resort to come online in the Southern Hemisphere this year. The early start is powered by the resort's Snow Factory snowmaking system, with limited terrain and beginner-focused operations running through to 12 June before full mountain hours begin.
Two New Zealand Ski Areas Target May Openings Using Snow Factory Technology
Coronet Peak and Whakapapa are both planning late-May openings using Snow Factory machines that produce snow regardless of ambient temperature. The technology allows limited terrain access before traditional season starts, though whether sledging operations and beginner carpets constitute actual ski area openings is debatable.
New Zealand Ski Resorts Expect Up to 15 Inches of Snow
South Island ski areas are set for a significant snowfall, with up to 15 inches expected in some regions. The weather system will bring varying amounts of snow across different resorts, impacting skiing conditions throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand Ski Resorts Welcome Early Snow in Autumn
Several New Zealand ski resorts have received their first snowfall of the season in mid-autumn, signalling the approaching winter and building anticipation for the upcoming ski season.
New Zealand's Superpass: Access 10 Ski Resorts on One Ticket
NZ Ski introduces Superpass, offering skiers and riders access to 10 mountains across New Zealand. This flexible pass allows for customised ski trips and includes perks at 60 off-slope venues.
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More from the SnowStash desk
Sugar Bowl, California, Rebuilds Its Historic Village Gondola
The rumours are true: Sugar Bowl is tearing out its Emerald gondola, in place since 1983, and replacing it with a new 8-person Doppelmayr system - nearly doubling uphill capacity to 1,800 people an hour. It's the fourth generation of a gondola line that dates back to 1953, when Sugar Bowl became the first resort on the West Coast to run one at all, and it's just one piece of a $100 million overhaul touching lodges, parking and snowmaking. Here's what's changing, and what's staying the same.
Two Confirmed Dead as Search Continues After Swiss Alps Fire
The death toll from Thursday night's fire at Restaurant Beverin in Thusis, Switzerland, has begun to firm up. One Swiss outlet, citing Graubünden Cantonal Police, reports that two of the five people initially reported missing have now been confirmed dead, leaving three unaccounted for. The building's collapsed stairwell and structural instability have slowed recovery efforts throughout. Here's what's changed since the fire broke out, and what's still unconfirmed.
Selwyn Snow Resort Closes Early as Rain Ends Its 2026 Season
Selwyn Snow Resort has called an early end to its 2026 season, a day after Victoria's Mount Baw Baw did the same. Rain on Thursday stripped what was left of the snowpack, and the cold nights needed to rebuild it through snowmaking never arrived. It's a rough result for a resort that only just found its footing again after being burned to the ground in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires and a multi-year rebuild. Here's how the season fell apart, and where Selwyn's been since the fire.
Mt Baw Baw Becomes First Australian Resort to Close for 2026
Mt Baw Baw is calling time on its 2026 season this Sunday at 5pm, becoming the first Australian resort to close for the year after warm spells and rain wore through its snowpack. Lifts stop, but the resort stays open, entry fees get waived, and there's one last Bollywood Weekend before the lights go out. Fifty-seven days after opening, here's how the season ended and what it means for the rest of Australia's struggling snowpack.
Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair
Arosa's Hörnli sector is getting its biggest overhaul in decades. The 1986 gondola and 1994 chairlift linking toward Lenzerheide are both being replaced, with capacity up, tower count down and a new base station lower on the hill. At roughly CHF 67 million, it is the largest single investment Arosa Bergbahnen has ever made - and the target opening has already slipped a year, to December 2028. Here is what is changing, and why the timeline moved.
Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter
Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.
Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow
Finland's Levi and Ruka open for the 2026-27 season on October 2, more than seven weeks before most of Europe sees a lift turn. Neither resort is waiting on autumn snowfall - both are skiing on snow buried since last spring, insulated through the Finnish summer and dug back out for opening day. It is not a shortcut. It is a decades-old system now spreading from the Arctic Circle to Idaho, Utah, Vermont and Colorado. Here is how snow farming actually works, and why it is catching on.
Sölden's Old Einzeiger Chairlift Gets a Second Life in Montafon
Silvretta Montafon is replacing its ageing Freda chairlift - but not with something new. The resort is having a 1999 four-seater chairlift, retired from Sölden, dismantled, shipped to Vorarlberg and rebuilt with new electronics, cable and clamps. It has to be running before March 2027, when Silvretta Montafon hosts the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships - the biggest winter sports event Vorarlberg has staged. Here's how a reused lift ends up cheaper.