SAM Magazine—Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Nov. 11, 2025—Sommet Saint-Sauveur began making snow in earnest on Nov. 6 and got enough down to open for the season at noon on Sunday, becoming the first ski area in eastern North America to open daily for the 2025-26 winter season for lift-served skiing and riding. Sommet Saint-Sauveur opening day.

Cold temps also benefited several Midwest ski areas, with Wisconsin’s Trollhaugen and Minnesota’s Wild Mountain opening on Monday, Nov. 10. Andes Tower Hills in Minnesota got the drop on both, opening its surface lift on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. An overnight snowmaking push allowed the ski area to add two trails served by a chairlift on Monday, starting at 3 p.m.

Wild Mountain opened with top-to-bottom skiing and riding on one lift-served intermediate trail and a rope-tow-served terrain park at 1 p.m. on Monday, making it the first in the Midwest to open for chairlift-served skiing and riding. The ski area plans to operate daily from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. until it can expand its open terrain. 

Trollhaugen also opened Monday with first chair going up at 3 p.m. to access one trail served by one chairlift and a terrain park served by a rope tow. The ski area posted operating hours through Sunday, Nov. 16, subject to change and a note that future dates and hours are to-be-determined—a nod to unpredictable early-season weather that could expand or scuttle snowpack. 

Further east, it appeared the title of first to open in the eastern United States was going to go to Killington Resort in Vermont, when on early Monday afternoon it announced plans to kick things off on Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

Trollhaugen shares pre-season hours.But about two hours after that proclamation hit, Sugar Mountain in North Carolina spread the word that it planned to open on Tuesday, Nov. 11, thanks to a cold snap that set in Sunday night, allowing the ski area to fire up its powerful snowmaking system and make snow around the clock. Three inches of natural snow also fell Sunday night in North Carolina, and temps dipped into single digits overnight Monday with more snow. The ski area is  reporting 7 inches of snow since Sunday night. 

Sugar plans to open with five trails of top-to-bottom skiing and riding served by its six-pack Summit Express as well as a conveyor lift in the learning area. 

The ski area has a summit elevation of 5,300 feet and is no stranger to early openings. It started the season on Nov. 11 in 2018, Nov. 9 in 2019, and as early as Halloween in 2012. 

Killington plans to have five trails for Wednesday, a record number of opening day trails for the resort, open to Killington 2025-26, Beast 365, and Ikon Pass holders. The general public will be welcomed on Thursday, Nov. 13. Advanced terrain only will be served by the K-1 Gondola and North Ridge Quad. Terrain will be accessible directly off the lifts, but downloading on the gondola will be required for the first few days. Killington is aiming to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding later this week as cold temps return. 

Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta opened Nov. 2, the first ski area in Canada to open for the 2025-26 season. On Oct. 26, Keystone edged out Arapahoe Basin to be first to open for daily operations in North America. 

With the Midwest and East starting to open and already about a dozen ski areas open in Colorado and western Canada combined, winter 2025-26 is gaining momentum. 

SAM will continue keeping tabs on ski area openings as the winter season gains momentum. Stay tuned for more.