There has been fresh snow once again in the Alps and in many areas in the southern hemisphere, however temperatures are also still warm in the Alps, and one glacier in Austria has had to close temporarily as a result, taking the number of open centres down to 10.

Val Senales in Italy has reported the biggest snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere, at an open ski area at least, in the past seven days with a 25cm (10 inch) fall last Thursday, 5th August, it has a one metre base. At Cervinia it’s 70cm nut a rather warm +5C on the Plateau Rosa glacier, Passo Stelvio is also open for snowsports.

Despite some fresh snow last week the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun in Austria which has been battling an increasingly thin snow pack, has decided to temporarily halt snow sports until conditions improve. Currently the snowpack is down in to single figures (7cm) and temperatures on the glacier are +4C. It’s better news on the Hintertux glacier which is still maintaining one of the largest snow areas in the Alps with 20km of trails open served by nine lifts, it reported fresh snow on Saturday. It’s also warm on the Dachstein glacier where cross country trails and the Horsefeathers Superpark are both open.

We’re in to the last few weeks of the summer ski season in France where the glaciers at Tignes and Val d’Isère will close later this month. However the closure will be only temporary in the case of Tignes which re-opens in late September and remains the only open French ski area for most of the autumn. Both have glacier snow bases of 60-100cm and both received a little snowfall late last week, greatly improving conditions over the very hot days of July.

In Switzerland, Saas Fee and Zermatt are both open, receiving up to 4cm of new snow at the weekend. Saas Fee reports a 117cm (nearly four foot) base. It has ten lifts, four runs, its terrain park and half pipe open.

In South America there’s been little new snow in Chile, Portillo has reported 9cm (four inches) in the past week, and the base remains between 40cm and a metre, still waiting for the first huge fall of the season. Chapa Verde has a 50cm (20 inch) base. Valle Nevado’s large ski area remains almost entirely open, with a 70cm (2.3 feet) with no new snow in recent days. It has received 3.7m (over 12 feet) of snow so far this season.