The short answer: across most of the Northern Hemisphere the ski season opens in December and closes in April. Of the 251 resorts in the intski database, 220 list December as their opening month and 225 list April as their closing month. The exceptions are the useful part: two glacier resorts open in October, fifteen high or snow-heavy resorts open in November, a dozen ski into May, and the fourteen resorts we list in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile run from June to October.
One caveat: our data records opening and closing months, not dates. Exact dates are set by each resort a few weeks ahead and move with the weather, so a resort that “opens in December” may run its top lifts in late November after a good storm or wait until mid-December in a warm autumn. Treat the months below as the normal pattern for 2026/27 and confirm dates on the resort’s official site, linked from every intski resort page.
Opening months at a glance
| Opening month | Resorts | Who opens then |
|---|---|---|
| October | 2 | Glacier resorts: Sölden (Austria) and Tignes (France) |
| November | 15 | High Alpine resorts (Zermatt, Cervinia, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Ischgl, Verbier, St. Moritz) and eight North American resorts, from Whistler Blackcomb to Vail |
| December | 220 | Almost everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere |
| June | 14 | Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile |
Closings mirror this: 225 resorts close in April, 12 in May and the 14 Southern Hemisphere resorts in October.
The earliest openers: glacier skiing from October
Only two resorts in our data open in October, and both do it on glaciers. Sölden in Austria’s Ötztal skis on two glaciers with three peaks over 3,000 m (top station 3,250 m) and hosts the World Cup opening races each October; its listed season runs October to May. Tignes has glacier skiing to 3,456 m on the Grande Motte and is also listed October to May.
An October opening means a glacier sector and a handful of lifts, not a whole resort; the lower runs, village lifts and most restaurants open in late November or December with everyone else.
November openers
Fifteen resorts list November. In the Alps they are the high, snow-sure names: Zermatt and Cervinia, which share a linked area topping out at 3,883 m and are both listed November to May; Val d’Isère and Val Thorens, also November to May; Ischgl, November to May, with its famous opening and closing concerts; and Verbier and St. Moritz, November to April. Zermatt’s description also notes year-round glacier skiing on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the highest lift-served point in Europe.
North America skews earlier than the Alps. Whistler Blackcomb, Banff and Lake Louise in Canada all list November to May, while Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Park City and Telluride in the United States list November to April. That is 8 of 29 North American resorts, against 3 of 30 in Switzerland and 1 of 50 in Austria.
Opening and closing months by country, Northern Hemisphere
Most common opening and closing month per country; where there are exceptions, the bracketed figure is how many of that country’s resorts follow the pattern.
| Country | Resorts listed | Usual opening | Usual closing | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 50 | December (48) | April (48) | Sölden opens in October, Ischgl in November; both close in May |
| France | 40 | December (37) | April (36) | Tignes opens in October, Val d’Isère and Val Thorens in November; those three plus Chamonix close in May |
| Switzerland | 30 | December (27) | April (29) | Zermatt, Verbier and St. Moritz open in November; Zermatt closes in May |
| Italy | 30 | December (29) | April (29) | Cervinia runs November to May |
| United States | 19 | December (14) | April (19) | Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Park City and Telluride open in November |
| Canada | 10 | December (7) | April (7) | Whistler Blackcomb, Banff and Lake Louise run November to May |
| Germany | 8 | December | April | None |
| Japan | 7 | December | April (6) | Niseko closes in May |
| Andorra | 5 | December | April | None |
| Spain | 4 | December | April | None |
| Norway | 4 | December | April | None |
| Sweden | 3 | December | April | None |
| Finland | 3 | December | April | None |
| United Kingdom | 3 | December | April | None |
| Bulgaria | 3 | December | April | None |
| Poland | 3 | December | April | None |
| Czech Republic | 3 | December | April | None |
| Slovenia | 3 | December | April | None |
| South Korea | 3 | December | April | None |
| Georgia | 2 | December | April | None |
| Slovakia | 2 | December | April | None |
| Turkey | 2 | December | April | None |
Two patterns stand out. The exceptions are concentrated in Austria, France, Switzerland and Italy, which supply 9 of the 17 October and November openers and 8 of the 12 May closers. And the smaller ski nations, from Norway to Turkey, are uniformly December to April in our data.
The latest closers: skiing in May
Twelve resorts list May as their closing month. Seven are high Alpine resorts with top stations above 3,200 m: Zermatt and Cervinia (3,883 m), Chamonix (3,842 m), Tignes and Val d’Isère (3,456 m), Sölden (3,250 m) and Val Thorens (3,230 m, with a base at 2,300 m, the highest resort village in Europe). Altitude is the whole explanation there, and the ranking of Europe’s highest ski resorts is a good shortlist for a late trip.
The other five show that snowfall and latitude can do the same job. Ischgl tops out at 2,872 m. Banff, Lake Louise and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada have tops of 2,730 m, 2,637 m and 2,284 m. Niseko reaches only 1,308 m but receives over 14 metres of snowfall a year, which is why it is still open in May.
Late-season routine: ski early, stay high and north-facing, and expect the lowest runs to close after lunch.
Southern Hemisphere: June to October
All 14 resorts we list in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile follow a June to October season, with July and August as the core months.
| Country | Resorts listed | Season | Largest by piste km | Highest top station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 4 | June to October | Perisher, 100 km | Perisher, 2,054 m |
| New Zealand | 4 | June to October | Cardrona, 60 km | Mt Hutt, 2,086 m |
| Argentina | 3 | June to October | Cerro Catedral, 120 km | Las Leñas, 3,430 m |
| Chile | 3 | June to October | Valle Nevado, 40 km, and La Parva, 38 km | Valle Nevado, 3,670 m |
The three Chilean resorts, Valle Nevado, La Parva and Portillo, have base areas between 2,590 m and 2,860 m, higher than any resort village in Europe. The Australian and New Zealand fields are lower (top stations 1,649 m to 2,086 m) and smaller: Perisher’s 100 km is the largest, and the rest range from 35 km to 65 km.
Planning 2026/27 around these months
- Skiing before December: pick from the 17 October and November openers and check lift status a week before travelling. You are buying a high sector, not a full resort.
- Early December is usually the quietest and cheapest part of the season but the least certain for lower runs. Higher resorts carry less risk; the resort finder filters by altitude and snow-sure rating.
- Christmas to New Year and the February school holidays are the busiest weeks; late January and March balance snow and prices.
- April and May belong to the high resorts. Check top-station altitude in the compare tool before booking a late trip.
- June to September means the Southern Hemisphere, or a European glacier with summer skiing such as Les Deux Alpes or Zermatt.
Quick answers
When does the ski season start in Europe?
December for the large majority: 48 of 50 Austrian, 37 of 40 French, 27 of 30 Swiss and 29 of 30 Italian resorts in our data. Sölden and Tignes open in October on their glaciers; Zermatt, Cervinia, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Ischgl, Verbier and St. Moritz open in November.
Which ski resorts open earliest?
Sölden in Austria and Tignes in France, both in October, thanks to glacier skiing at 3,250 m and 3,456 m respectively. Exact dates change each year with autumn snowfall.
When does the ski season end?
April for 225 of the 251 resorts we list. Twelve run into May: Zermatt, Cervinia, Chamonix, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Sölden, Ischgl, Banff, Lake Louise, Whistler Blackcomb and Niseko.
When is the ski season in the Southern Hemisphere?
June to October in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile, with July and August the core months. Chile’s resorts are the highest, with Valle Nevado reaching 3,670 m.
