Several ski areas in the Australian state of Victoria have now reported more than 135cm (4.5 feet) of snowfall accumulating in the 10 days since the state went into its fifth lockdown and they were ordered to close.  The state’s government is hoping to stop small outbreaks of the Delta variant there. Ironically the snow started falling just as the lockdown was declared, with the resorts previously only able to open limited terrain to first six weeks of the season as there had not been much snowfall up to that point. The initial lockdown was announced to last Tuesday but has now been extended top next Tuesday and may be extended again. Ski areas in Victoria say they will reopen

Issued: 21 July 2021 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European Roundup North American Roundup Asia Roundup Southern Hemisphere WORLD OVERVIEW We’re in mid-summer, or mid-winter, depending on which side of the world you’re on. Snow has been falling on most ski slopes in the Southern Hemisphere this past week and most resorts are open now in Australia, New Zealand, South America and southern Africa. Although a few remain closed, including a few famous names like Portillo and Las Lenas; the latter due to there being no snow at all there at present after some promising pre-season dumps.In terms of snowfall around the world this past week, it has been a much snowier week than previously in July 2021 so far. There were

Two of Norway’s three summer ski areas have closed early for the season, with the third about to do the same, as the country’s glaciers are hit by prolonged warm weather, melting the snow cover fast to expose the ice below. One centre reported their snow cover had gone, “...at record speed”, another that the snow had gone, “…much faster than we thought possible.” Ice exposed on the ski run at Galdhøpiggen Sommerskisenter The three centres usually open in May as the rest of Scandinavia’s ski areas close and aim to stay open to late summer or autumn in a good year.  Last year one of the centres reported snow lying over 15 metres (50 feet) deep and took a

In an escalation of moves by regional governments in the states of Australia to so outbreaks of the Delta variant of COVID 19, The Victorian Government has declared a state-wide five-day lockdown from 11:59pm Thursday 15 July until midnight on Tuesday 20 July. This means that lifts at the state’s ski resorts which include Falls Creek and Mt Hotham will stop spinning for five days from tonight. “We know that this is devastating news for our guests, employees, and local communities, and we want you to know that we share this sadness with you, and that we’ll ensure to be ready to welcome you back when the lockdown has lifted. The safety of our guests, staff and community is, and

A French ski teams are reported to have summited Gasherbrum II, the 13th highest mountain in the world at 8,034 metres (26,358 ft) above sea level and one of the 16 so called “8000ers” on earth, then skied back down. The group, led by Alpine Adventure Guides, included two women, Tiphaine Duperier who works at Val d'Isère and Aurélia Lanoe, along with Boris Langenstein and Guillaume Pierrel had to wait for more than a month through bad weather before making their ascent, having arrived in the region in early June. They are then reported to have made the summit and ski descent far faster than previous attempts. The mountain was first climbed on July 7, 1956, by an Austrian expedition