Some Welcome Snow Finally Falls in Australia

30th July 2026

It has been a poor winter so far and some welcome snow has at last arrived. There’s been more snow in New Zealand while in South America it continues to fall in huge amounts – one resort in Chile has seen 6m. NEW

     

Resorts in the state of Victoria in south east Australia have seen some of the best snow with 15cm falling at Mt Hotham in the last few days.

Here’s Falls Creek in Victoria.

Much more is still needed to get winter back on track but it is welcome nonetheless.

Thredbo and Perisher have around 30% of their terrain open, with Falls Creek and Mt Hotham around 20%.

It has been a generally poor winter ski season so far in Australia.

There’s been some snow further north in the state of New South Wales.

Here’s Perisher:

 

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A post shared by Perisher (@perisher_resort)

Next door is the ski resort of Thredbo:

In New Zealand snow has fallen on the South Island, and it has started to fall on the North Island.

40cm fell last weekend and most ski areas are open.

“Wake up and smell the powder — Treble Cone has been absolutely hammered with fresh snow overnight, with 40cm of new snow on the upper mountain in the past 24 hours,” said a social media post from Treble Cone.
“It’s light and dry up top, with a slightly heavier, denser snowpack down at the base — but make no mistake, this is exactly the kind of morning you set the alarm early for.
“And it’s not stopping. The forecast has snow continuing through the day, with the snow line possibly dropping as low as 400m.
“That means road conditions will be affected — please drive with care and carry chains, no exceptions.”

Cardrona reports that 95% of its ski area is open and Mt Hutt has 90% on offer.

Last weekend there were six avalanches on the South Island.

They happened in Arthur’s Pass, the Craigieburn Range, Ōhau, Aoraki/Mt Cook region, and the Aspiring and Fiordland areas.

No-one was seriously injured.

People heading into the alpine backcountry are being warned to check the avalanche forecast before they travel.

There is more snow in the forecast.

Skiing in New Zealand

South Island, New Zealand. Image © PlanetSKI

In South America Ski Portillo in Chile has seen the best of the snow though it has meant the resort has been cut off as we reported in this earlier article as the series of storms began.

Valle Nevado has seen 1.5m of fresh snow in the last week alone with more in the forecast.

All of its 13 ski lifts are operating, with 44 of 45 runs open.

“This storm cycle has transformed the mountain,” said the General Manager of Valle Nevado, Dominique Rudloff.

“The extraordinary snowfall Valle Nevado has received in recent days has created some of the best conditions of the season.

“With deep snow already covering the mountain and more on the way, there’s never been a better time to experience winter in the Andes.”

Through its connection with La Parva, the resort of Valle Nevado offers the largest ski area in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 4,200 skiable acres.

In Argentina there has been less snow, but it has still seen some good conditions.

Over 1m has fallen in places though some areas remain closed as slopes are secured and access roads cleared.

Las Lenas, Cerro Castor and Cerro Bayo have all seen good amounts of snow with more in the forecast.

We will be updating this article as the snow continues to fall, so do check back…

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