SAM Magazine-Denver, Nov. 2, 2011-Copper Mountain and Keystone Resort join the ranks of open areas in North America this Friday, Nov. 4, bringing the total in Colorado to five, and the North American total to roughly a dozen.

At Copper, The American Eagle and Excelerator chairs will be running; the area has hosted race teams and the PSIA fall training during the past two weeks, and conditions have been reportedly excellent.

Keystone will have the River Run Gondola running, serving Spring Dipper and River Run. The area will have about 30 features set up in the terrain park up top, served by the Ranger lift, and two learning areas, mid station and up top. In the past week, Keystone has received more than a foot of natural snow.

And, also bolstered by natural snow, Arapahoe Basin is open top to bottom. A-Basin and Loveland have been operating daily for weeks now.

In California, Boreal, which opened for the weekend Oct. 29-30, is set to open daily, too. With strong snowmaking and the promise of natural snow tomorrow, the area plans to open Nov. 4 for good. "The turnout last weekend for our October opening was incredible," said Jon Slaughter, Boreal marketing director. "Now the weather has turned in our favor, setting up another successful early season." Starting Saturday, the area will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

In Canada, Lake Louise is set to open Nov. 5 with two routes down from the Glacier Express chairlift on Saturday. There will be a small rail park on Easy Street, and Sunny T-bar will also be open.

Among other early-opening areas, Killington continues to operate daily. Wolf Creek is operating Fridays through Sundays, and Sunday River is open on weekends while conditions permit. So is Nakiska in Alberta.

Other areas managed to open, even if briefly, during the past week, as snowstorms smacked the Northeast with more than two feet of snow in some places. Woodbury Ski Area opened Oct. 29 for the weekend; Ski Plattekill, N.Y., opened on Oct. 30, as did Mont-Sainte Sauveur in Quebec, and Wild Mountain, Minn. At Plattekill, skiers and riders lined up early after the area hinted on Twitter the evening before that it might open.

Wild Mountain is operating again this weekend, Friday night plus Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. It to hopes to open full-time Nov. 11.

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