Snow came to many parts of resort country in early December, but Thanksgiving, the traditional kickoff to the ski season, was a decidedly un-natural (as in snow) holiday this year. With the exception of Alaska (where Alyeska received 130 inches of snow between November 1 and 15), Whistler/Blackcomb (44 inches on the ground Thanksgiving Day), and a couple of mainland U.S. resorts (Big Sky, Mont., and Grand Targhee, Wyo., both pummeled with early snow), skiing in the lower 48 was almost entirely on machine-made snow.

Yes, yes, Thanksgiving was early this year. But the whole month of November was a natural snow bust. “We received more snow in October than November,” says Joani Lynch, PR director at Mammoth, Calif., which opened one slope November 8. In Colorado, only 13 of the state’s 26 resorts were able to open in November-–all on manmade snow. Ditto for Utah and California. Crowds were sparse (down 15 to 20 percent at Mammoth) and trail counts were in the single digits.

Moving east, where resort operators are used to having to blow their own snow to open in November, an extended cold snap and lots of flurries made for some good conditions and business. Sunapee, N.H., exceeded its T-day budget by 25 percent, Cataloochee, N.C., had its second-best T-day weekend ever, and Wild Mountain, Minn., had mid-winter weekend numbers.

Still, are the relatively small crowds over Thanksgiving, and November as a whole, worth the snowmaking expense?

Yes, say resort operators.

“It doesn’t take that much to be profitable,” says Charles Skinner, Jr., co-president of Lutsen, Minn., which opened November 18. “All we need are three cold nights to get open. Families are here over Thanksgiving. It’s a big confidence booster for people if we can open then. It builds momentum for the rest of the season.”

Cataloochee, which matched in-state rival Sugar Mountain for the earliest East coast opening (November 7) needs only 8 to 10 hours to get up and running. “We have an automated snowmaking system,” says Chris Bates, general manager. “We started making snow at 5 p.m., November 6 and opened for business the next morning. It’s a big confidence builder when people call to ask when we’re opening and we say, ‘We’re already open.’ ”

Even in the West, where the scale is so much larger, opening for Thanksgiving is important. “Consumers expect to ski at Thanksgiving,” says Randy Barrett, VP and general manager at Crested Butte, Colo. “You need to have the snowmaking to ensure you can meet that demand.”

Eastern owners Tim and Diane Mueller have brought that early-season product emphasis with them from Okemo, Vt. Despite this fall’s drought, Crested Butte opened November 17, and by the end of the month, had more terrain open than most resorts in the state.

“Opening at Thanksgiving creates huge excitement,” says Erin Ernst at Boyne Mt. and Boyne Highlands, Mich., which each opened on one slope for Thanksgiving weekend. “Pass sales increase, reservations pick up, phones ring, Web traffic increases.”

“It creates buzz,” agrees Greg Sweetser, executive director of Ski Maine. “People are thinking about winter, the media is on top of it. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.”

From an operational standpoint, Thanksgiving also serves as a dress rehearsal. “It gives us a chance to gear up, work out any bugs and get our new staff up to speed,” says Bonnie MacPherson, PR director at Okemo, which opened November 16.

That buzz, combined with low-energy snowguns and sophisticated snowmaking strategies, make the cost-benefit ratio of early season openings very feasible. “We don’t break the bank to open for Thanksgiving,” says Bruce McCloy, marketing director at Sunapee, N.H., which opened the day after, its second-earliest opening ever. “We have pretty strict guidelines regarding snowmaking temps. If they come early we take advantage of them, like this year. Our goal is to be fully open by Christmas, and we make snow every chance we get.”

Being first has its rewards. Some years, those rewards are greater than others; it all depends on the weather. Wild Mountain has been the first Midwest area to open for 33 years.

But the price is high, admits Amanda Frischmon, VP of marketing—$250,000 in new snowmaking equipment and a lot of marginal snowmaking conditions. “We never saw temperatures below 26F until November 20,” Frischmon says. “But we’re the only area open in the state. We’re known for it.” cont.

“Financially, it doesn’t always make sense to try to open so early,” agrees Lynch at Mammoth. “But we guarantee our season and have a lot of trainers here. Usually we have more natural snow. This year we didn’t, but over the long term it is a financial benefit for us.”

Here’s a quick look around the rest of the country at the early season.


East
After last year’s dismal start, prolonged nighttime cold temps and some natural snowfall got eastern resorts off to a fast start. Sugar Mountain and Cataloochee kicked off the season November 7, followed by Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine, November 8 and 9, respectively.

“Boyne [the new owner of the two Maine resorts] has empowered the two areas to make their own operating decisions,” Sweetser says, “and there was a race to see who would open first.” Both areas reported mid-winter conditions and crowds.

Bretton Woods was the first area to open in New Hampshire (November 10), “We had three lifts, 11 trails and good traffic over Thanksgiving,” says Irene Donnell, PR director.

Things were also looking good in Vermont, where Mt. Snow (now managed by Peak Resorts) kicked off the season November 10, the area’s earliest opening in 10 years. Jessica Pezak, communications director at Hunter, N.Y., says the area opened November 21. “We had excellent conditions and a lot of business. Feedback was excellent.”


West
Natural snow was scarce nearly everywhere out West for Thanksgiving. Alta, Utah, known for its powder, was unable to open before November 30. At that time, their website said: “Pray for snow.”

Prayers for snow could be heard all over the Rockies. In Colorado, where it was initially too warm even to make snow, Steamboat and Telluride were both closed over Thanksgiving. Eldora, one of the state’s smaller resorts, had the deepest base (24 inches), and Wolf Creek, which often gets the most snow, had just 10 inches, most of it coming after Thanksgiving.

In the Far West, California was dry and skiing was on manmade snow, In Washington and Oregon only five resorts were open over Thanksgiving.

“We’ve put nine new chairlifts in this year,” says Scott Kaden, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association. “We’re excited.”

Farther north, Whistler/Blackcomb and the rest of British Columbia got off to a great start, as did Alaska.

But fortunes can change overnight. By early December, major storms had dropped more than a foot in many locations from Colorado through New England, while rain drenched Alyeska and took aim at the Pacific Northwest. A reminder, if any were needed, that Mother Nature often has the last word.