SAM Magazine-Telluride, Colo., March 19, 2009-In the wake of additional spring snowfall, several resorts, among them Telluride, Mount Washington, B.C., and Belleayre, N.Y., are extending their seasons.

Telluride will keep the Coonskin and Plunge lifts open for an additional week after the scheduled resort close, April 5. Only terrain off the Plunge and Coonskin Lifts will be open, although a gate located near patrol headquarters at the top of the Plunge Lift will allow access to the USFS backcountry access gate at the top of Gold Hill. Lifts will operate from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Season passes will be valid through the new closing date. Adult day ticket prices reduced to $50. For seniors, children, and passholders and employees from other resorts, day tickets are just $25.

"Spring skiing conditions are consistently great in April," said Dave Riley, CEO of the Telluride Ski Resort. "Extending the season to April 12 is our way of saying thank you to our loyal skiers and boarders."

In Canada, Mount Washington Alpine Resort will open on the weekends of April 18-19 and 25-26, thanks to recent storms; the original closing date was Monday, April 13. "We want to maximize people's time on the slopes. If the best conditions of the season are going to arrive now, then we want riders to get out and enjoy it," said resort spokesperson Brent Curtain. Operating hours will be modified to take advantage of extended daylight time. The resort is also promising some new events and late season specials.

In New York, Belleayre Mountain Ski Center will continue winter operations as long as the snowpack hangs on and the skiers keep coming. The decision reverses an announcement last October that, due to budget cutbacks, the state-funded ski resort's winter season would end in March. \

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