Selwyn Centre – township triple chair and home run at 3:40 pm on Monday, 24 August. Image: Selwyn Snow Resort.
Selwyn Snow Resort has ended its snow season early, following forecasts that a decent snow dump is “unlikely” after a “challenging” 2026.
“It’s certainly not the way we hoped to finish the season,” they said in an email.
“Mother Nature hasn’t been kind to us this year, and following Thursday’s rain and the significant impact it had on our remaining snow cover, our Mountain Team worked tirelessly to give us every possible chance of reopening.
“Unfortunately, the temperatures we needed for snowmaking didn’t arrive, and the time has come to call it a season.”
The announcement was about six weeks earlier than the traditional end to the snow season, which usually finishes with the October long weekend.
It’s been a disappointing one so far, with much of the Alps reporting record warmth through June and July.
For Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist David Crock, it’s not a surprise that alpine communities are seeing sparse snowfall.
He pointed to limited snow, warmer temperatures and rainy weather found across the Alps in recent weeks.
“It continues to not be a good story for the snow season … We’re reaching the last few days of August, when the natural snow pack starts to melt – and there’s not much there to start with [from this season].”
He said climate change was the “number one” factor, while El Niño has been contributing to warmer temperatures across eastern Australia.
“Climate change is making things warmer, and it’s hard to get substantial snowfall in the winter … that’s a long-term trend,” he said.
“I think last season was pretty good, at least for the Victorian resorts … Getting a good season depends more and more on luck, in terms of when you get nice big snow [dumps] and cold outbreaks through the season.”
A polar blast in 2022 brought more than a metre of snow to Selwyn – a far cry from what its slopes look like today. Photo: Selwyn Snow Resort.
Jindabyne Chamber of Commerce president Olivier Kapetanakos said the slower season left small businesses struggling.
“Businesses rely on the winter period of July and August to cover their costs,” he told Region.
“June and September are well known to be for making that little extra – there is not going to be any extra this year.”
But he believes people haven’t given up hope in mountain fun, saying he’s already taking accommodation bookings for 2027 dates.
“I think this really points to the necessity for Jindabyne and the mountains to look at a year-round economy, rather than a winter economy.
“Certainly, mountainbiking plays a big part of that. Outdoor activities … become more important when you have a pretty warm winter.”
According to forecast website SnowWatch, no snowfall is expected at any of the NSW or Victorian resorts over the next 15 days.
Mr Crock said there is “no sign” of more snow arriving in the coming days, labelling a larger dump of September snow “unlikely”.
“It’s pretty hard to see any sort of recovery this late in the season,” he said.
Instead, a rainy week is on the cards, with 15 to 40 millilitres of rain forecast for Perisher alone.
“This week doesn’t make for good reading for snowfall or snowmaking… It doesn’t look like there’s any big snow-producing systems in the next seven to 10 days.”
He warned this could result in severe thunderstorms developing.
In their statement, a Selwyn spokesperson said people with bookings for the rest of the 2026 season have been contacted.
