Where To Go Skiing In The Summer
Skiing in July sounds like a typo. It isn't. Summer snow exists. It hides on glaciers, in high alpine bowls, and on a few stubborn patches that refuse to melt. You just have...
Skiing in July sounds like a typo. It isn't.
Summer snow exists. It hides on glaciers, in high alpine bowls, and on a few stubborn patches that refuse to melt.
You just have to know where to look. And honestly, the hunt is half the fun.
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North America: The Stubborn Stuff
Timberline Lodge, Oregon
This is the granddaddy of summer skiing. Timberline sits on Mt. Hood and keeps its Palmer Snowfield lifts spinning nearly all year.
It's the rare spot where you can ski in the morning and complain about sunburn by lunch.
Bonus trivia: the lodge played the exterior of the creepy hotel in The Shining. Skiing there in August is far less terrifying than the movie.
Beartooth Basin, Montana and Wyoming
Here's a weird one. Beartooth Basin only opens in summer.
Why? Because in winter, the pass is buried under so much snow that the road is closed. So the lifts run from late spring into early July instead.
A ski area that shuts down for winter is a genuinely delightful piece of nonsense.
Mammoth and A-Basin
In big snow years, Mammoth Mountain in California pushes its season into August. Arapahoe Basin in Colorado has been known to celebrate July 4th with a lift line.
Neither one promises summer turns every year. When they deliver, though, it feels like a gift.
Europe's Glacier Circuit
Europe does summer skiing with great confidence. Glaciers above 3,000 meters stay cold enough to keep the surface creamy.
Hintertux and Stubai, Austria
Hintertux Glacier claims skiing 365 days a year. That's not marketing fluff — it's just very high and very cold.
The local routine is absurd in the best way: carve turns at 9 a.m., swim in a valley lake by 4 p.m.
Summer Fun at Colorado Ski Resorts Open Now
Stubai Glacier runs a similar program, with wide, forgiving slopes that are perfect for shaking off rust.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Zermatt's summer skiing happens on the Theodul Glacier, near 3,900 meters. The Matterhorn looms over the whole thing like a very smug spectator.
Passo Stelvio, Italy
Stelvio is another summer-only operation, tucked into the famous hairpin pass. Same road, same absurd corners that car shows love to film.
Glacier skiing has its own rhythm, too. Surface lifts, wide pistes, and a lot of soft, forgiving snow. Don't expect tight trees or mogul fields.
The Midnight Sun Trick
Sweden's Riksgränsen takes summer skiing and makes it surreal.
In June, the sun doesn't set. So you can ski at midnight with the sky glowing pink and orange.
Norway joins in too. The Fonna glacier and Stryn Sommerski keep snow well into summer, powered by long northern daylight.
There's something deeply funny about needing sunglasses at 11 p.m. on a ski slope.
Flip the Calendar
Down south, summer skiing isn't exotic. It's just winter.
New Zealand's Cardrona and Treble Cone fill up in July and August. So do Chile's Valle Nevado and Argentina's Catedral.
Australia gets in on it too, with Perisher and Thredbo running through the Southern Hemisphere's coldest months.
And then there's Afriski in Lesotho. Yes, Africa. It sits above 3,000 meters and serves up real snow to real skiers.
Summer Skiing | Peak Retreats
Snow in a Mall, Snow in a Desert
Ski Dubai is exactly what it sounds like. An indoor slope, inside a shopping mall, in the middle of a desert.
The snow is real. The penguins are real. The temperature outside is not.
It's a strange, wonderful flex of engineering and air conditioning.
A Few Things Nobody Warns You About
Summer snow is usually "corn" — crunchy at dawn, soft and forgiving by mid-morning, slushy by noon.
Timing matters. Show up early, ski hard, quit before your skis start dragging.
Also, dress lighter than you think. People ski in t-shirts and shorts on glaciers constantly.
Bring sunscreen anyway. Snow reflects sunlight like a mirror.
And expect a smaller patch of terrain. Summer skiing is often one lift, one glacier, one long runway of white.
That's the charm, honestly. Fewer crowds, weirder vibes, better stories.
Your summer ski day might be one run long. That's still one more run than your friends got.
So go ahead. Ski in July. Wear shorts. Get a goggle tan that confuses everyone at the beach.
Summer snow is real, and it's waiting.
