the southern hemisphere’s ski season beginning five weeks early last weekend. Meanwhile there are still dozens of ski areas open in North America and in Europe, where the summer ski season is just starting off for 2009.
 
In the Alps several dozen major resorts called it a day for winter 2008-09 last weekend as May began, many reporting record or near record snow accumulations and better financial results than predicted by a pessimistic media, the largest resort owning business on the continent, the Compagnie des Alpes, amongst those announcing a 2% increase in sales for the season this week.
 
Two resorts are left open in France, but both Chamonix and Tignes will close for the winter this weekend on Sunday May 10th. Then there’s a month’s wait until the country’s three summer ski options – Tignes, Val d’Isere and Les 2 Alpes open. In the meantime the only snow skiing in France will be indoors, at the Amneville indoor slope.
 
Most of the conventional Austrian ski areas which had remained open in to May finally closed at the weekend, with St Christoph and Ischgl amongst those running their lifts for the last time this winter last Sunday.
 
But half a dozen Austrian glacier ski areas remain open through June including Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn and Tux. The Stubai glacier, which currently has a 3.5 metre (12 foot) base, added 10cm (four inches) of fresh snow – the ski season here began last September, more than eight months ago!
 
Elsewhere The Molltal glacier remains open until this Sunday when it will close for five weeks, the Pitztal glacier a little longer, to late May. Meanwhile the Dachstein Glacier is closed for most of May, re-opening on the 31st.
 
In North America the ski areas still open in Canada are limited to Sunshine in Alberta and Whistler in British Columbia. South of the border there’s a larger choice in the Western US states with Mammoth and Squaw in Caliofornia, Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, Snowbird in Utah and Mt Bachelor and Timberline in Oregon all at least still partially open.
 
In the southern hemisphere the Australian ski season began five weeks earlier than planned when Mt Buller decided to run its ski lifts and open to the public at the weekend with an unprecedented 35cm/14 inch snowfall.
 
"It's the best snow we've had this early since we opened in 1964, so it's pretty huge for us," Mt Buller spokeswoman Gillian Dobson told local media.
 
The snow arrived soon afterwards in New Zealand where enthusiasts dug out their gear and hiked up to the top of Canterbury’s Mt Hutt over the weekend to also enjoy ‘first tracks’ of the season.
 
Snowfall on Thursday and Friday last week and continued cold temperatures has resulted in a 45cm (18 inch) base at the high country ski resort.
 
James McKenzie, Assistant Ski Area Manager for Mt Hutt, said there were a number of keen skiers making the most of the early snow over the weekend.
 
“We’ve got some awesome powder at the moment so it’s great to see locals hitting the slopes and having some fun so early in the season,” he said.
 
The ski area is officially scheduled to open and start running its lifts in just over five weeks on 13 June.

Photo credit: Mt Hutt, New Zealand