New Lifts, New Terrain, New Memories: What's Coming to Ski Resorts Around the World

From expanded terrain in Utah to new Alpine lifts and changing mountain experiences in Japan and New Zealand, winter 2026–27 is giving skiers and snowboarders new ways to make lasting memories.

There's something special about the weeks before winter. The first snow on distant peaks. Pulling skis or a snowboard out of storage. Messages between friends about where to go—and the hope of another day you will talk about for years.

Across the world, mountain resorts are investing in new lifts, terrain and places to gather. Those investments appear on a balance sheet. Their value to us is more personal: a child finding their confidence, friends discovering a new run, or an afternoon so good that nobody wants to head home.

Some of these developments are due for winter 2026–27; others have recently opened or are planned for later. Here is what is changing—and what those changes could mean for your next mountain memories.

Canada: New Ways to Explore Familiar Mountains

Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia — A New Route Into the Alpine

For winter 2026–27, Whistler Blackcomb is preparing to introduce its Showcase Chair, improving access to Blackcomb's high-alpine and glacier terrain. The project is part of the resort's continuing mountain investment, alongside improvements to on-mountain dining.

For experienced skiers and snowboarders, easier access means more of the day spent where they came to be: making turns in the high alpine, with friends waiting below and another run already calling.

Imagine arriving at the top after a storm has cleared, with the Coast Mountains stretching into the distance and fresh snow covering the surrounding peaks. Those are the days that stay with you long after the season ends.

Read Whistler Blackcomb's winter update.

Big White, British Columbia — Making First Turns More Memorable

Not every memorable day involves steep terrain or deep powder. Sometimes it is a child's first linked turns, on skis or a snowboard, and the delighted look back to see whether you were watching.

For the coming season, Big White is expanding its beginner facilities in Happy Valley, including a new covered conveyor lift called Polar Passage. The resort is also introducing digital grooming and mountain information boards at major lift stations as part of a CA$5 million infrastructure investment.

These improvements should make it easier for visitors to navigate the mountain and for beginners to build confidence. Big White's anticipated opening date is November 26, 2026, subject to conditions.

For families, the memory might be the thrill of a first chairlift ride, the satisfaction of finally mastering a blue run, or simply heading back into the village together as the sun sets over the snow.

Explore what's new at Big White.

United States: Bigger Mountains and Better Access

Deer Valley, Utah — An Extraordinary Expansion Continues

One of North America's most significant resort developments is continuing at Deer Valley. Following a major expansion for the 2025–26 season, the resort plans to open another 200 acres of skiable terrain for winter 2026–27.

The new Hail Peak Express chairlift is planned to serve seven additional runs, bringing Deer Valley to approximately 4,500 acres of skiable terrain. It is a remarkable transformation of a resort already known for carefully prepared slopes and mountain hospitality. Deer Valley remains a skiing-only resort.

For skiers who love exploring unfamiliar terrain, this is the chance to discover a favourite run that doesn't yet exist in their personal mountain story. It might be the place they return to year after year—or where a completely unexpected perfect day unfolds.

Deer Valley expansion details.

Park City Mountain, Utah — Easier Access to the Slopes

Across Park City, mountain access is also evolving. The new 10-passenger Canyons Village Skyway Gondola is planned for the 2026–27 season, following the arrival of the Sunrise Gondola in 2025–26. Additional lift replacements, including improvements around Silverlode and Mountain Village, are scheduled for winter 2027–28.

For a group of skiers and snowboarders heading out together, easier access can mean a calmer start and more time on the snow. The lift is the investment; the extra run together is what you remember.

Park City Mountain's investment plans.

France: Les Trois Vallées Continues to Evolve

Few ski destinations offer quite the same sense of possibility as Les Trois Vallées. Connecting Courchevel, Méribel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens, the region is known for its enormous variety of skiing and the pleasure of travelling between mountain villages.

The mountains have changed over the years, but certain things remain familiar: the scale of the surrounding peaks, the excitement of reaching a different valley, and the sense that there is always one more run worth exploring.

Méribel — New Experiences Across the Mountain

In Méribel-Mottaret, the Plattières gondola is receiving an artistic transformation featuring work by French artist Lucas Beaufort. The Châtelet chairlift is also returning to service, improving access around the ski area and its snowpark.

Snowmaking and piste improvements are intended to make important links across the mountain more reliable. For anyone who remembers skiing Méribel years ago, these changes offer another reason to return and see what feels familiar—and what's different.

Courchevel — A Refreshed Mountain Journey

At Courchevel La Tania, the gondola is being modernised with new panoramic eight-passenger cabins, designed to improve comfort and accessibility while retaining elements of the existing infrastructure.

Courchevel is also introducing a panoramic terrace at the summit of Les Chenus. Because some of the best moments of a ski holiday happen when the skis aren't moving: sunshine on a terrace, a long mountain lunch, or a quiet moment appreciating the surrounding Alps.

Les Menuires — A New Place to Learn

At Les Menuires, a new beginner area at the top of the Roc 1 gondola will give people learning to ski a more accessible environment to build confidence.

A beginner area is a modest entry on a development plan. For the person who finds their confidence there, it can be the beginning of a lifetime of winter trips.

Read more about developments across Les Trois Vallées.

Switzerland: New Mountain Transport Beneath the Matterhorn

Zermatt — A New Chairlift in an Iconic Landscape

With the unmistakable Matterhorn dominating the skyline, Zermatt remains one of the world's most recognisable mountain destinations.

For winter 2026–27, the resort is replacing its 37-year-old Patrullarve chairlift with a modern six-seater serving the Patrullarve–Sunnegga–Blauherd area. The aim is a more comfortable and efficient journey through this spectacular part of the mountain.

But the real reason to visit Zermatt hasn't changed. It's the extraordinary mountain appearing above the village in the early morning light. The sense of history. The feeling of skiing somewhere truly special.

Whether it's your first visit or your fifteenth, the Matterhorn has a way of making every return memorable.

Zermatt's Patrullarve chairlift announcement.

Austria: More Comfortable Journeys, More Time Skiing

Sölden and Ischgl — Modernising the Alpine Experience

Austria continues to invest in the infrastructure that makes long mountain days easier and more comfortable.

At Sölden, a new six-passenger Gratl chairlift is planned for 2026–27, replacing an older installation and cutting the journey time from around eight minutes to just over four.

At Ischgl, the new eight-seater Höllkarbahn will introduce heated seats and protective weather bubbles. These changes might sound technical, but the benefit is simple: a warmer ride, smoother access and potentially more skiing during the day.

A shorter lift journey might become one more run together. A comfortable ride gives cold hands a break and friends time to decide where to go next. Those are small improvements that can change how a day feels.

Tirol's winter 2026–27 news.

Italy: Olympic History Meets a New Generation

Cortina d'Ampezzo — Skiing in the Footsteps of Olympians

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games brought renewed international attention to Italy's magnificent Dolomites. Cortina is now preparing for its first full winter season after the Games.

Visitors can experience the mountain's Olympic heritage, including the legendary Olympia delle Tofane course, used for women's Alpine skiing events in February 2026.

The resort has also recently introduced the Lacedel–Socrepes gondola, replacing two older chairlifts and improving access in the Tofane ski area.

You don't have to be an Olympic racer to feel a connection to the history beneath your skis. Sometimes simply standing where those moments happened is memorable enough.

Cortina's 2026–27 winter preview.

Kronplatz and the Dolomites — Investing in Connected Skiing

At Kronplatz, new ten-passenger gondolas are planned for the Kronplatz 1 and 2 route, alongside lift upgrades and new pistes. Improvements are also planned at other Dolomiti Superski destinations, including 3 Zinnen Dolomites and Val di Fassa.

Work is progressing on a future connection between San Martino di Castrozza and Passo Rolle. That is a multi-year project, not an opening expected this coming winter.

For skiers who love exploring different valleys, discovering mountain villages and enjoying traditional Italian hospitality, the Dolomites remain an extraordinary destination—both on the slopes and away from them.

Dolomiti Superski season developments.

Japan: New Gondolas in the Land of Powder

Niseko, Hokkaido — An Evolving Mountain Experience

Japan draws skiers and snowboarders with deep snow, distinctive mountain culture and the promise of a very different winter adventure.

At Niseko Village, work is underway on the new eight-passenger Mori-no Gondola. Its first section is scheduled for winter 2026–27, with the second stage expected in 2027. At Grand Hirafu, the Ace #3 chairlift is being upgraded from a two-seater to a four-passenger lift to increase capacity.

But Niseko offers more than new lift infrastructure. Picture the quiet of snow-covered forests, powder drifting from the trees and the satisfaction of finishing an extraordinary ski day with a traditional Japanese meal—or relaxing in an onsen.

Sometimes the mountains you remember most are the ones that introduce you to a completely different culture.

Niseko United's lift developments.

New Zealand: Recent Expansion and What's Coming Next

Cardrona — More of the Southern Alps to Explore

While northern hemisphere resorts prepare for winter, New Zealand has just been enjoying its 2026 ski season.

At Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wānaka, the Soho Basin expansion added approximately 150 hectares of new terrain for winter 2025. Further snowmaking, piste and guest facility improvements continued into 2026.

For intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders, the expanded mountain means new lines to explore together—and new places to stop, catch your breath and take in the Southern Alps.

If you've always wanted to ski in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps this is the season to start planning that journey.

Queenstown and regional ski-season developments.

Mt Hutt — Looking Ahead to Winter 2027

Further north, Mt Hutt has announced an approximately NZ$12 million expansion of its base facilities ahead of winter 2027.

The project includes more dining space, an enlarged heated outdoor deck and improved guest amenities. It's an investment in one of skiing's simplest pleasures: sitting outside after a memorable morning, sharing a meal and taking in the scenery.

Mt Hutt's planned base building expansion.

Argentina: New Access to the Mountains of Patagonia

Chapelco — A Significant Gondola Upgrade

In Argentina, Chapelco, near San Martín de los Andes, celebrated a major infrastructure upgrade during the 2026 season.

A new ten-passenger gondola connects the base area with the 1,600-metre level in approximately five minutes. The resort has also improved parking and equipment-storage facilities.

For skiers thinking about a future trip to South America, Patagonia promises something distinctive: mountain scenery, local culture and the thrill of exploring somewhere that feels genuinely far from home.

Chapelco's 2026 improvements.

What We Take Home Matters Most

New lifts, larger ski areas and improved facilities are the changes a resort can put a price on. What counts for the people who visit is what happens because of them: time together, growing confidence and days they wish would never end.

A new chairlift might take you to the run your group wants to repeat all afternoon. A learning area might be where your child links their first snowboard turns. A mountain terrace might become the place you sit together each year, remembering the first trip.

The most meaningful memories don't always come from the biggest or most famous mountains. Sometimes they come from the smallest moments—a perfect turn, an unexpected view, a shared laugh on a chairlift or one final run before the mountain closes.

The best mountain days leave you wishing you could stay—and planning how soon you can return.

Planning note: Information is current to October 2026. Planned openings and construction timelines can change; always check official resort announcements before booking. Photographs illustrate the destinations; archive images do not show the announced new construction. Wikimedia photographs have been resized and compressed for this article; their individual licences are linked in the captions.