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Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 4, 2016—When Arapahoe Basin opened for the season on Oct. 21, it was cold and snowy in many parts of the country. It seems that more ski areas were bound to also open shortly after. Right? Not if Ma Nature had anything to say about it. Which she did.

Nearby Loveland Ski Area, A-Basin's early-season friendly rival, said it planned to open the week after its neighbor, but unseasonably warm temps prevented snowmakers from adding to the layer they'd already put down. A-Basin is still the only mountain open in the western half of the country.

With the women's World Cup event knocking on the door, Killington in Vermont fired up its snow guns in earnest on Oct. 10. After a window of cold weather toward the end of the month, it was able to open the season for the eastern half of the country on Oct. 25.

Several resorts in the East have made snow during brief cold stretches, including Wildcat, N.H., Stowe, Vt., and Sunday River, Maine, but none have flirted with the prospect of an early opening.

sunshine village 2Sunshine Village, AlbertaIn Canada, Sunshine Village was the first to open for the season, with first chair going up the morning of Nov. 3. This is the earliest Sunshine Village has opened for the season in more than 30 years.

The Alberta resort has been getting steady doses of snow, allowing it to open with five lifts accessing 19 trails on a 27-inch base. Spokesperson Lindsay Gallagher said more than 1,000 people showed up for opening day, an impressive number considering it was midweek. Today, the resort expanded open terrain to 30 trails served by six lifts.

Other resorts in North America had long planned opening days in the first week of November—we're looking at you, Keystone and Wolf Creek, Colo.—but have since shelved those plans until more snow falls or they can make enough to open.

According to snocountry.com, several resorts from coast-to-coast hope to open by Nov. 11 or 12. Many others, being more conservative, are pointing toward their traditional Thanksgiving timeframe.

Naturally, everyone wants to get off to a fast start and kick winter into high gear. Today, there are three ski areas open in North America. A few others, Sugarbush, Vt., and Purgatory, Colo., have publicly said that snowmaking is underway. All it will take is a short window of cold weather, and the number of resorts open for the season will grow quickly.