With some glaciers open for snowsports all year round (Hintertux and Zermatt), and some for 9-10 months of the season but starting/ending at different times (Molltal and Saas Fee) it’s difficult to say there’s a particular start and end date to the summer ski glacier season.
Indeed some areas (Whistler Blackcomb, the Beartooth Basin Summer camp in Wyoming, Val d’Isere in France and Stryn in Norway) have short 5-7 week ‘summer’ openings, mostly in June, and just to the start of July, so are hardly open in the actual summer.
However this coming week does mark one of the main start period for summer skiing, and it is actually summer.
The Molltal Glacier in Austria re-opened for its long season through to next spring last weekend but this weekend sees the two remaining big summer ski areas in France – at Les 2 Apes and Tignes, open for their summer ski and board seasons, and a few days later Cervinia win Italy will re-open for glacier skiing, opening up cross-border summer skiing to Zermatt in Switzerland.
Les 2 Alpes (above) will open with a new 2km-long luge run built on the glacier, with banked turns, tunnels and small bumps. Located by the snowpark, the run is accessible by the funicular.
There’s also a brand new outdoor festival for the opening of the season running from 22 to 25 June.
Visitors will be able to try an array of exciting activities: summer skiing and snowboarding, downhill mountain biking, paragliding, trail running, climbing, golf, ski on wheels…as well as taking part in competitions and contests.
This new festival includes a show where outdoor brands will exhibit their new gear, as well as many entertainments: concert, slack line world record whilst those who are looking for softer activities can take part in yoga lessons, hikes… and just enjoy the atmosphere.
