Many of us thought this year’s insane ski season would never end. The snow-logged folks of Mammoth Mountain are even promising to keep ski lifts turning until July. We say, why stop there? Powder hounds refusing to cave into summer can skip it entirely by heading Down Under during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.
In the mountains of Australia and New Zealand, you can slash deep turns through cold smoke, carve beneath gum trees, and even sharpen your après-ski game during the U.S. “off-season” of June to October.
Related: We Tested the Best New Performance Skis of 2023
Relatively low altitude is kind on the lungs (Australia’s highest peak of Mt. Kosciuszko in Thredbo is 7,310 feet), but an absence of tall surrounding mountains ensures ski slopes get pummeled on powder days. Plus, you don’t even need to buy a lift ticket if you hold an Ikon or Epic Pass in most places.
As the days get longer and the air conditioning begins rattling up north, here are 10 of the best places to ski and ride Down Under.
Where to Ski in Australia and New Zealand
Courtesy of Thredbo
Where: Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Courtesy of Perisher
Where: Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
Courtesy of Mt Buller
Where: Victorian Alps, Victoria, Australia
Courtesy of Hotham
Where: Victorian Alps, Victoria, Australia
Courtesy of Falls Creek
Where: Victorian Alps, Victoria, Australia
Courtesy of Cardrona
Where: Crown Range, South Island, New Zealand
Courtesy of Treble Cone
Where: Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand
Courtesy of Coronet Peak
Where: Otago Range, South Island, New Zealand
Courtesy of Turoa
Where: Taupō Plateau, North Island, New Zealand
Courtesy of Southern Lakes Heliski
While heli drops aren’t a thing (yet) in Australia, the option to heli-ski in New Zealand opens up vast terrain featuring blank canvasses of steep, untracked powder to spray and glide through. Operators like Southern Lakes Heliski fly out of the South Island to the peaks around Queenstown and Wanaka.
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