The teams down under: Skiing in the Southern Hemisphere

The FIS Alpine World Cup season is still a few weeks away, but the road to the opening in Sölden is well underway. While summer continues in the Northern Hemisphere, winter conditions are in full swing on the other side of the world.

For many athletes, that means heading south. Over the past weeks, teams have travelled to New Zealand, Chile and Argentina to return to snow, fine-tune their preparations and, in some cases, put their summer training to the test in FIS races.

Here is a look at where some of the teams have been training during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

New Zealand

New Zealand has welcomed several of the world's leading technical skiers in recent weeks.

The U.S. Tech squad, featuring Nina O'Brien, Elisabeth Bocock, Paula Moltzan, Katie Hensien, AJ Hurt, Logan Grosdidier and Liv Moritz, was among the teams training down under. The group also shared the slopes with fellow World Cup racers, including Zrinka Ljutić and New Zealand's own Alice Robinson.

The Swiss men's technical team has also been spotted down under, with Loïc Meillard, Daniel Yule, Matthias Iten and Luca Aerni putting in the work on the slopes.

Meanwhile, Lara Colturi has also been making the most of the New Zealand winter. Training alongside the Swiss men's technical team, the group has had to make the most of some challenging conditions down under. And when the snow doesn't quite cooperate, there is always time for a little off-snow competition.

Argentina

On the other side of the globe, Argentina has also welcomed athletes from across the World Cup circuit for their on-snow preparations.

After making her Olympic return at Milano-Cortina earlier this year, 2022 Slalom Olympic champion Petra Vlhová has taken another important step in her comeback, returning to skis in Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina. Having been away from the World Cup since her injury in January 2024, Vlhová is now back on snow and building towards her return to competition.

Austria's women's speed group, including Nina Ortlieb, Stephanie Brunner, 2026 Giant Slalom Crystal Globe winner Julia Scheib, Victoria Olivier and Ricarda Haaser, shared a glimpse into their training block in Argentina's southernmost city.

From water to snow: Léo Anguenot and his teammates Hugo Desgrippes, Clément Noël, Victor Muffat-Jeandet, Paco Rassat, Steven Amiez and Auguste Aulnette have made their way to Ushuaia, where the French team is back on skis and preparing for the season ahead.

Soon afterwards, the French women's team also made its way to Argentina to begin its own on-snow preparations.

Italy’s speed queens Marta Bassino, who is back on skis after her injury during training in Val Senales in October 2025, Elena Curtoni, Downhill Crystal Globe winner Laura Pirovano and Super G Crystal Globe winner Sofia Goggia, were seen in Ushuaia.

Emma Aicher, Germany’s rising talent, shared some snapshots with her teammates Fabiana Dorigo, Jessica Hilzinger and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann from the end of the World in Ushuaia.

Chile

Chile has also been busy welcoming athletes escaping the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Brazilian star Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has been spotted making turns on the Chilean slopes as his preparations for the upcoming season continue.

After their training block in Ushuaia, Austria's women's speed group continued north to Chile, with Julia Scheib, Nina Ortlieb, Stephanie Brunner and Ricarda Haaser moving on for the next stage of their Southern Hemisphere preparations.

The US Ski Team men’s speed gang also trained in La Parva between clowdy skies and sea views from the slopes.

Miha Hrobat also shared a glimpes, a proper glimpse, into a training run in El Colorado, taking us along in a POV format.

With the World Cup opener in Sölden slowly moving closer, the kilometres travelled and training days logged down under are all part of the final preparations before the world's best alpine skiers return to Europe and the race season gets underway.

FIS Competitions down South

The Southern Hemisphere is not only a destination for training camps. With the first FIS races of the winter already underway, athletes have also had the chance to put their preparation to the test in competition, producing some interesting results along the way.

Notably, the men's races at Coronet Peak produced one of the more unusual results of the Southern Hemisphere season. In the Slalom, Luca, Zak and Freddy Carrick-Smith filled the top three places, with the three British brothers sharing the podium.

Check the results page for more details on the results and for calendar in the southern hemisphere.