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Verbier Opening Day for the 2025-26 Season

Verbier Opens Early for 2025-26 Season Following November Snowfall

Verbier has opened for the 2025-26 season on 1 November after receiving 40cm of snow at higher elevations. The early opening is notable for a non-glacier resort in the Alps, though questions remain about terrain coverage and snow depth sustainability.

Michael Fulton
Where Alpine Luxury Lives: Top 13 Most Expensive European Ski Home Markets

Top 13 Priciest European Ski Property Markets Revealed

UBS study uncovers soaring prices in Alpine ski home markets, with Swiss resorts leading in cost and French destinations boasting the largest markets.

Michael Fulton
Worldwide Ski Industry Report Claims Consolidation After the Pandemic

Global Ski Industry Shows Resilience in Post-Pandemic Season

The 2023/24 ski season demonstrated the industry's recovery with over 366 million skier visits worldwide, marking the third consecutive year of robust performance according to the latest International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism.

Michael Fulton
Verbier in the swiss alps

LEGO Executive Michael Halbye Dies in Swiss Alps Skiing Accident

Michael Halbye, vice chairman of LEGO's parent company Kirkbi, passed away after a skiing accident in Verbier, Switzerland. The 64-year-old business leader and royal family confidant suffered fatal internal injuries after falling off-piste.

Michael Fulton
Epic Pass 2025/26: A Comprehensive Buying Guide for Skiers and Riders

Epic Pass 2025/26: A Comprehensive Buying Guide for Skiers and Riders

Explore the various Epic Pass options for the 2025/26 season, including new resort access, pricing, and benefits for skiers and snowboarders looking to maximise their mountain time across multiple destinations.

Michael Fulton
Verbier from high above.

Epic Australia Pass Now Includes Switzerland's Verbier 4 Vallées for 25/26 Season

Epic Australia Pass holders will gain five consecutive days of skiing at Switzerland's renowned Verbier 4 Vallées for the 2025/26 season. This addition brings one of Europe's premier freeride destinations to the already impressive lineup of international resorts available to pass holders.

Michael Fulton

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More from the SnowStash desk

Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair

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.

20 Aug 2026
Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter

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.

19 Aug 2026
Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow

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.

19 Aug 2026
Sölden's Old Einzeiger Chairlift Gets a Second Life in Montafon

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.

18 Aug 2026
Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season

Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season

Nassfeld is putting €13 million into a new 6-seater chairlift, the Tressdorfer Almbahn, connecting Sonnleitn with the Tressdorfer Alm from December 2026. It replaces three ageing drag lifts and will run through summer too, from June 2027, moving up to 2,500 people an hour on the roughly three-minute ride. It's the latest step in Carinthia's largest ski resort building out a genuine year-round offering, following last year's Gartnerkofelbahn gondola.

17 Aug 2026
Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope

Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope

Italy's Stelvio Glacier has pulled the plug on summer skiing from August 15. It was the last lift-served ski option left standing in continental Europe, and now there's none. Operator SIFAS pointed to persistent heat, storms, and a snowpack that simply wasn't refreezing overnight anymore. The cable car keeps running. Whether skiing comes back later this summer depends on the weather turning - and right now, nobody's promising anything.

15 Aug 2026
Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area

Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area

Firefighters saved every base building at Maverick Mountain, Montana, but the resort's sole chairlift didn't survive the Sand Creek Fire. Owners Erik and Kristi Borge say the lift is "most likely" out for the 2026/27 season after flames tore through the mountain on August 8. The wildfire has since grown past 27,700 acres with zero percent containment. It's a gutting result for the tiny, one-lift operation near Dillon - though the lodge, groomers and equipment all made it through untouched.

15 Aug 2026
Fairmont Niseko: New Luxury Resort Revives Stalled La Plume Site for Early 2028 Opening

Fairmont Niseko: New Luxury Resort Revives Stalled La Plume Site for Early 2028 Opening

Fairmont is bringing its second Japanese property to Niseko, and this one's got history. The 165-room resort will rise on the site of the stalled La Plume project, which collapsed into bankruptcy in 2025 before J-Will Partners bought the site for redevelopment. Set between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri, it's slated for an early 2028 opening - putting it in play for the 2027/28 season. Expect two restaurants, a spa, onsen bathing, and a kids' club, a short drive from Niseko Village and Hirafu.

12 Aug 2026