More Resorts Opening for Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

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19 November 2015

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 19, 2015—Despite a relatively warm start to the fall, recent snowstorms out West and snowmaking conditions in the East have a number of resorts opening for the season just ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.

Colorado has seen multiple snow storms roll through in the past week, giving many areas the base needed to get the season going. Winter Park kicked things off on Nov. 18 with fresh snow on 11 open trails. There will be a variety of resorts to choose from this weekend with Eldora, Monarch and Vail planning to open on Nov. 20, followed by Aspen, Snowmass, Purgatory, and Steamboat on Nov. 21.

Vail said it expects to open with more than 1,000 acres of terrain. Steamboat's opening is earlier than planned, thanks to 3.5-feet of snow that has fallen so far in November. Wolf Creek is reporting 78” of snow so far in this young season and is the only resort on the continent to have 100% of its terrain open.

Since last week, several more inches of snow have fallen on the mountains of California—enough to get four more resorts open for the season, including Boreal, Kirkwood, Mountain High, and Snow Summit. Bear Mountain is open weekends only after starting its season on Nov. 14.

Sierra-at-Tahoe plans to open for the season on Nov. 20, which is the earliest the resort has opened for skiing and riding in 11 years. In a recent press release, general manager John Rice said, “A November opening is giving us a great outlook for the rest of the season. In a similar year, we logged as much as 499 inches of snowfall.”

Snow is also falling in Utah, where Brighton opened on Nov. 18 with $40 lift tickets. Alta, Brian Head, and Snowbird plan to begin operations on Nov. 20, with Solitude's first chair going up on Nov. 21.

Also opening on Nov. 21 is Park City, making its debut as the largest ski resort in the United States after Vail Resorts combined Park City Mountain Resort and neighboring Canyons into one interconnected area.

The ski season in Wyoming begins on Nov. 20, with Grand Targhee planning to open thanks to 49 inches of snow so far in November.

In British Columbia, Whistler Mountain was able to open on Nov. 19 after more than 60 inches of snow has fallen to date. Big White has also initiated operations. Sun Peaks and Silver Star plan to open on Nov. 21, as well as Canyon in Alberta. Mont Saint-Sauveur and Mont Sainte-Anne in Quebec are both shooting to kick off the ski season in Eastern Canada on Friday, Nov. 20.

In New England, both Killington and Sunday River reopened for daily operations after being two of the first resorts in the country to spin lifts back in mid-October. Anyone who brought a non-perishable food donation to Bretton Woods on Wednesday, Nov. 18 got to ski for free on one trail serviced by a high-speed quad. And Sugarloaf is opening Nov. 21.

Wild Mountain, Minn., became the first Midwestern area to open, on Nov. 20.

A stretch of cold weather helped snowmaking efforts in North Carolina, where Cataloochee opened Nov. 15-18. The area has suspended operations until this weekend, when more cold weather is forecasted. The Tar Heel State's Sugar Mountain also opened Nov. 15 and debuted its new Summit Express high-speed quad. Sugar has since suspended operations, and a reopening date has not been set.

Snowmaking conditions are forecasted for the Northeast this weekend through early next week, and if snow continues to fall out West, there could be a lot of Turkey Day turns being enjoyed from coast-to-coast as the roster of open resorts continues to grow.