Glacier Ski Area in Austria Opens Today
15th September 2026
Last modified on September 26th, 2026
Pitztal is open but Kaunertal has cancelled its opening this weekend. Two Italian ski areas remain open, with a handful of others hoping to open in October. UPDATED
The opening date was set some time ago and it was feared Pitztal might have to push it back after the high temperatures of the summer.
Conditions on the glaciers are not great, but there is enough to offer some September skiing and snowboarding.
“It’s about to start again!” said Pitztal on social media.
“On Saturday, September 26th, we’ll kick off the new ski season at Pitztaler Gletscher.
“We’re looking forward to the first runs of the season with you.”
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This is the current scene in Pitztal:
Kaunertal is not so fortunate and has been forced to delay its planned opening.
“Our planned season start for a training operation from 26.09.2026 cannot take place due to the current weather conditions.”
“Instead of snow, there was rain recently, and the temperatures are still too high to start with snowfall.
“As soon as the snow and temperature conditions allow, we will start.”
“The extent of skiing on all these glaciers remains very limited with just two runs open in Pitztal on a heavily managed base,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk.
“There was a dusting of snow on the Austrian glaciers mid-week, though not enough to radically transform the otherwise barren landscape for any length of time.
“Overall, the weather in the Alps this September has again been exceptionally dry and warm.
“Looking a bit further ahead, the forecast for the Alps remains unfavourable for the glaciers, with next week set to get off to a very warm start across the board.
“It will turn a fraction cooler mid-week with some showers and even a dusting of snow possible at high altitude, however, temperatures will remain above average for the foreseeable future.
“Next weekend will see Hintertux – which until recently opened 365 days a year –open its glacier for skiing for the first time since July.
“Sölden and Kaunertal, however, have postponed their openings and (at the time of writing) have yet to confirm until what exact dates.”
The Italian ski area of Val Senales has some very limited skiing with just 1km of terrain open.
Passo Stelvio in Italy re-opened earlier in September after closing in mid-August due to the warm temperatures.
Its glacier ski area was a sorry sight.
Photo: pirovano.it, 15 August 2026
It has 3kms of slopes open.
In the Alps there has been some recent snow and a further drop in temperatures.
In the second week of September 20cm fell in places – the first significant snow since last Spring.
Here was Saas-Fee in Switzerland as the snow finally fell:
Saas-Fee web camera image, Friday 11th September.
It is not enough for Saas-Fee, or its neighbouring Swiss autumn ski area of Zermatt/Cervinia to re-open, but it is certainly an improvement.
Both ski areas have said they will fire up some lifts when conditions allow.
Zermatt/Cervinia shut it summer slopes on August 1st, while Saas-Fee held out to August 10th.
The 2026 summer ski season in the Alps has been the worst since summer skiing began around 60 years ago with areas shutting early amid heatwave after heatwave.
At one point there was no lift served skiing on offer – a first.
Once all the numbers are collated it will be the warmest summer on record in the Alps and likely the shape of things to come.
However, our thoughts at PlanetSKI are turning to the winter ahead.
Austria usually sees the first resorts to open and alongside Pitztal abd Kaunertal others are hoping to open
- Hintertux glacier – Early October 2026.
- Molltal glacier – 3rd October 2026
- Kitzsteinhorn – Mid-October 2026
- Soelden – Mid-October 2026
- Stubai glacier – Mid-October 2026
Here was Kitzsteinhorn earlier in the month:
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See here for a related PlanetSKI post as we detail the opening and closing dates for the major ski areas in Austria:
In Finland two resorts are preparing to open on October 2nd.
Levi and Ruka are launching the earliest non-glacial season on the planet without relying on a single fresh flake of snow.
They are using snow stored from last season.
Ruka preserves around 150,000 cubic meters of snow over the summer, enough to blanket roughly 67 football fields.
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The summer of 2026 has been very poor for the Alps with long-term changes taking place as the glaciers melt and the mountains become more unstable.
“The consequences of the extreme heat in the Alps this summer have been impossible to ignore, not least in the rapid demise of summer skiing,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk
“A series of heatwaves that began in May and continued through June, July and August, combined with the preceding winter’s relatively modest snow conditions, left the high-altitude glaciers in an exceptionally vulnerable state.
“Snow acts as a protective layer over glacier ice, reflecting much of the sun’s energy (the “albedo effect”).
“When it disappears, this leaves darker, older ice exposed, which absorbs more heat and accelerates the rate of melting,” added Fraser.
See here for a full and detailed assessment on the summer weather in the Alps from weathertoski.co.uk:
PlanetSKI reported across the summer on the impact of the rising temperatures on the Alps:
- Another heatwave hits the Alps with damage to glaciers and mountains
- Further rockfalls threaten the Alps
- Swiss villages threatened by melting glaciers
- Another Swiss village evacuated due to landslide threat
- Monitoring rockfalls in the Alps
Now we are set to report on the snow falling and ski areas opening as the winter of 2026/27 approaches.
PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, is currently in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta in Canada.
“There are no ski areas currently open in Canada or preparing to open, but the first snow has fallen and people have begun talking about the approaching season,” said James.
“I met up with a few friends from the Sunshine Village piste patrol and ski school last weekend, and their thoughts are most definitely turning to winter.
“The resorts have, of course, already started posting pictures on social media of the snow falling.
“It will make absolutely no difference for the coming winter, but it is always good the see the first snows falling and the seasons changing.”
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PlanetSKI’s Autumn Alberta road trip. Image © PlanetSKI
Winter may still be some way off, but it is getting closer by the day and our posts on PlanetSKI are already turning to the season of 2026/27.
Ski companies are also releasing news for the coming winter:
Winter is on its way folks!
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