Summer skiing is available in the northern hemisphere thanks to very high altitudes and/or glaciers helping to preserve the snow.
Of course, if you're wanting to ski between the months of June and September, you can also ski in the southern hemisphere’s winter: in Australia or New Zealand.
Below, we've listed seven of the best places to ski in summer, in America, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and France.
Ski in summer in Austria… Hintertux
Hintertux is a rare resort in that it’s open for skiing 365 days of the year! In the summer, you’ll be skiing on the glacier at 3,250m above sea level and enjoying 20km of pistes.
The pistes at Hintertux glacier cater to everyone from beginners to professionals – you’ll often see ski teams training here in the summer.
In addition to the pistes, you’ll find a fun snowpark, a snow tubing track, and a snow tyre carousel. The Hintertux Glacier Ice Palace is an amazing natural cave made of ice; a professional guide takes you through the cave, a crevasse, past frozen waterfalls and across a frozen lake.
Off the snow, there are lots of super hiking and mountain biking tracks too.
https://www.hintertuxergletscher.at/en/specials/hintertux-glacier/
Ski in summer in Switzerland… Zermatt
The highest spot you’ll find to ski in summer, in Europe, is the glacier in Zermatt. From 3,800m you’ll get a pretty spectacular view of the iconic Matterhorn. Lifts on the glacier open in June and stay open until the rest of the main resort opens up in winter, and then through to April.
As with Hintertux, lots of pros come to Zermatt to train in the summer. Zermatt manages to pip Hintertux to the post, with 21km of groomed pistes. There is also a great snowpark and restaurants to enjoy
Off skis/boards, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy Zermatt, including snowtubing, ice slides and venturing 15m deep inside a glacier in a lift!
https://www.zermatt.ch/en/summer-skiing
Ski in summer in France… Tignes
(Pictured above) Tignes’ summer ski season starts at the end of June and lasts till early August, up on the Grande Motte Glacier. The glacier sits at the altitude of 3456m, with a state-of-the-art funicular to take you up there. It’s an early start if you want to be first on the slopes, as the lifts start running at 7:15am. Last lift is at 1pm, but the last decent isn’t until 4:30, so you can have a pretty full day skiing.
There is 20km of pistes as well as a snowpark. When you get hungry, the Panoramic is an incredible mountain restaurant on the glacier for lunch. They also host après on the terrace – who says après is just for winter?!
Tignes offers some of the best mountain biking in the French Alps, with lots of quality mountain bike tracks across the mountain. Your lift pass gives free access to the Lagoon swimming pool in Tignes le Lac too. You could even try out Acroland on the Tignes lake: ski, snowboard or BMX down a huge ramp, flying into the water!
https://en.tignes.net/skiing/summer-skiing
Ski in summer in Sweden… Riksgränsen
Now something a little different! Riksgränsen, the world’s most northerly ski resort, is located 200km from the artic circle. Being so far north, it means the resort opens from February until June. During mid-summer, the resort actually experiences 24-hour sunshine! From the middle of May, you can ski under the midnight sky for the ultimate summer skiing experience.
Riksgränsen caters to all. For beginners, the low mountains provide gentle gradient pistes, for the more expert skiers and snowboarders there’s an abundance of off-piste skiing.
https://riksgransen.se/en/om-riksgransen/
Ski in summer in Norway… Stryn
Stryn is the most famous summer ski resort in Northern Europe and is a part of the huge glacier Jostedalsbreen. The summer ski season starts from early June to mid-July and, unlike many other resorts, the slopes are open from 10am - 4pm.
One of the big draws of Stryn is the amazing scenery that surrounds it, the area is known for its stunning settings of blue glaciers, fjords, deep valleys and snow-capped mountains.
Even in the summer there are plenty of off piste opportunities, providing you don’t mind a hike. There are lots of telemarking, cross-country and Nordic skiing possibilities too, if you fancy giving it a try.
Other off-ski activities include guided hikes and climbing. The Sky Lift in Loen (very close to Stryn) is one of the steepest cable cars in the world, taking passengers from the fjord at the bottom, over a kilometre up the mountain in just five minutes. There are 360-degree breath-taking views and a restaurant at the top, as well as lots of skiing and hiking trails.
https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/stryn/
Ski in summer in Canada… Whistler
The Horstman Glacier in Whistler is open from early June to mid-July. You can mix it up between a snowpark, mogul fields and the groomed slopes. The glacier is open from 11am until 3pm.
A great feature of skiing in Whistler is the ski and snowboard camps/clubs on offer. The camps and clubs cater for all ages and abilities, they range from beginner skiing improvement, to mogul technique to advanced racing practice.
Beyond the glacier, you’ll find yourself in amazing hiking territory (pictured above) and with access to world-class mountain biking trails.
https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer-activities/glacier-skiing.aspx
Ski in summer in America… Arapahoe Basin
Arapahoe’s winter season typically starts as early as October and, amazingly, ends in June. It’s even been known to stretch all the way to the 4th July! The resort, in Colorado, even sees fresh powder in May.
The longevity of the season here is thanks to Arapahoe’s 3,206m altitude. It boasts one the highest skiable-areas in North America, reaching 3,978m. What sets it apart from other, glacier-based resorts is that you get to enjoy skiing in the trees still, rather than being above the treeline.
https://www.arapahoebasin.com/the-mountain/mountain-facts/
