Less than 100 days from now, the first non-glacial ski resorts in the Northern Hemisphere will kick off their 2026–27 seasons. Levi and Ruka in Finnish Lapland have confirmed an October 2, 2026 opening, both launching their ski seasons on stored snow from the previous winter — a system that places them among the earliest non-glacier ski resorts to reliably open each year.
While glacier resorts in the Alps can operate year-round or open earlier depending on conditions, Levi and Ruka are seasonal, non-glacial resorts that rely on snow farming to open in early October each year. Rather than waiting for autumn cold snaps, both resorts effectively begin preparing next season during the current one. Through winter, natural snowfall as well as snowmaking systems at Levi and Ruka produce large volumes of snow but instead of melting in spring, a significant portion is then stockpiled into massive mounds and insulated under protective coverings designed to survive the summer. By early October, those snow reserves are reopened, redistributed, and groomed into limited but functional ski terrain. The system has been proven to be much more reliable, energy and cost efficient than producing man-made snow in autumn.
At Ruka, snow farming has been refined since the late 1990s, making it one of the earliest large-scale snow storage pioneers in the world. The resort has consistently opened in October on stored snow since 2016, preserving roughly 150,000 cubic meters (5.3 million cubic feet) of snow ahead of last season’s opening terrain. That’s enough snow to cover 67 NFL football fields in half a meter (1.6 feet) of snow. There are three snow storage methods that Ruka uses today: sawdust, which preserves 80% of the snow but is messy and therefore used sparingly; white insulating fabric, which is easier to handle but has a much higher snow loss; and a special plastic insulation developed by Finnish company Snow Secure, which offers the best balance, preserving about 80% of the snow.
At Levi, the system operates at even greater scale. In 2025, the resort stored close to 300,000 cubic meters (10.6 million cubic feet) of snow, including major stockpiles on competition terrain such as the Levi Black World Cup slope. Originally developed to guarantee early-season race conditions after warm-weather cancellations, snow farming has since evolved into a core operational strategy for public skiing. Last season, Levi closed after 220 days of skiing on May 10, 2026, and saw a record-breaking 599,000 skier visits.
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Both resorts will begin with limited terrain, focused on early-season skiing conditions. At Ruka, opening operations will center on the Saarua slope area, with lifts including the Saarua Express, Saarua chairlift, and Gondola running from day one. At Levi, both alpine and cross-country skiing will open. Key lifts including the Glacier Express chairlift, North chairlift, express cabin lift, and magic carpet will operate, alongside a stored-snow cross-country loop at Draivi. While it is not full winter skiing, it is reliable, functional skiing at a time when most resorts in Europe and North America are still weeks or months from opening.
Levi and Ruka have been pioneers in snow farming and have now become global reference points for their technique. Simple in concept, the system depends on precision honed through years of experimentation with different materials and insulation thickness. The Finnish resorts have demonstrated the success of snow farming so successfully that the system has spread across Europe and hundreds of European resorts now undertake snow farming, even in areas with much warmer summer temperatures than at the Arctic Circle.
The trend has also made its way to America, where, amongst others, Bogus Basin in Idaho, Burke Mountain in Vermont, Powder Mountain in Utah, and Aspen Snowmass in Colorado, are storing snow with the help of Snow Secure’s insulation material.
With less than 100 days to go now until lifts start spinning in Finnish Lapland, it is time to start the countdown to 2026-27.
