Summer Glacier Skiing Ends in The Alps
15th August 2026
The final open summer ski area, Passo Stelvio in Italy, has closed as the heatwaves take their toll. For the first time in recent years there are no glacier skiing options on offer as climate change makes its relentless impact. NEW
It was inevitable.
Passo Stelvio suspended its skiing operations from Saturday 15th August.
The ski area is not open in the winter and only offers snowsports across the summer months.
The cable car to reach the glacier will remain operational.
SIFAS announced on the resort’s website that skiing will stop after persistent heat, a lack of overnight refreezing and frequent storms made conditions too poor to guarantee safe summer skiing.
It said the decision was “painful but necessary” due to weather conditions affecting the glacier over recent weeks.
“These factors make it impossible to guarantee the usual standards of quality and, above all, of safety required for summer skiing,” said the ski area.
The ski area said it will constantly monitor the situation and the conditions of the mountain in the hope of a drop in temperatures and an improvement in the state of the glacier.
A change is unlikely.
“The relentless heatwaves which have affected much of western Europe since the end of May, and the large number of violent thunderstorms with very high rain/snow limits (sometimes as high as 4000m) have made it impossible to keep any summer skiing area in the Alps viable this year,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.
“The very hot weather currently afflicting the Alps should ease a little as we move through the second half of August.
“It’s almost certainly too late to resurrect any summer skiing, and it will probably be deep into September before any of the glacier ski areas consider opening again.”
All the other traditional alpine summer glacier skiing areas closed earlier:
- Zermatt/Cervinia
- Hintertux
- Saas-Fee
- Tignes
We have reported on the early closures on PlanetSKI:
Passo Stelvio. Photo: pirovano.it, 15 August 2026
“This is a highly significant and unprecedented moment as for the first time in my lifetime there are no areas open for summer skiing,” said the PlanetSKI editor, James Cove.
“If any ski measurement was needed about the impact of climate change then this is it.
“I have skied in the summer on all the various glacier options in the Alps over past decades, and urged others to do so while they still can.”
Summer glacier skiing in Les2Alpes, June 2017. Image © PlanetSKI
“At this precise moment it is now not an option,” added James.
“Next summer may be different and we shall have to wait and see, but this is something of a landmark moment in my opinion and a sign of the situation to come.”
This record-breaking summer for heat has had an impact in the mountains on more than just glacier skiing.
Mont Fort glacier, Verbier. Image © PlanetSKI
Parts of the Alps are now seeing violent thunderstorms with heavy rain.
In Val d’Isere in France there have been snap mudslides.
A 12-year-old child was caught with 23 people needed to be helicoptered off the mountain.
There were two mudslides on the area in the space of a few seconds.
A 12-year-old child, who was walking with his family, found himself caught in the slide.
He was neither carried away nor injured during the event.
19 other people were hiking in the area.
They were evacuated by helicopter and brought back to the parking lot.
Others were stuck at the Prariond refuge and needed to stay overnight.
The thunderstorms have also impacted other ski resorts with Molltaler Glacier in Austria forced to cancel its main summer concert.
We will be updating this post shortly as we look at the implications of the end of summer skiing, do check back…
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