Unprecedented Numbers of US Resorts Open Early For Season

An unusually high number of ski areas in the US have opened already for the 2018-19 ski season, with more planning to open this weekend, whilst it’s still October.

Last winter only Arapahoe Basin and the near-year-round snowfield above Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood in Oregon were open before November and there’s are rarely more than two or three areas open before Halloween in any year.

This October however has seen unusually big pre-season snowfalls, particularly in states like Colorado and Utah; as well as consistent cold weather for snowmaking.

Wolf Creek in Colorado (above) opened first, the weekend before last, and it was joined by Arapahoe Basin and Loveland last weekend.

But ski areas on the US East coast – Killington in Vermont and Sunday River in Maine (pictured bottom), also opened thanks to snowmaking and have since had some fresh natural snowfall too.

On the West coast Mt Rose Ski Tahoe (pictured top and above) made its earliest ever opening last weekend too, also thanks to snowmaking.

This weekend more ski areas in the East including Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire and Mount Snow in Vermont have announced they’ll be opening – in both cases their earliest ever opening dates.

“We always circle October 15th on the calendar as our official start date for snowmaking, but it’s up to Mother Nature to come through with the right temperatures. This year, she delivered and our team hit the mountain hard with snowmaking on Friday, October 19th, and just one week later, we are ready to ski Lynx.” said Brian Heon, general manager and vice president of Wildcat Mountain, “Not to mention the foot of fresh snow we received on Wednesday, that was really the icing on the cake!”

Ski areas in Canada will start opening from the first weekend in November with Nakiska, Marmot Basin, Lake Louise, Sunshine and Norquay at Banff usually among the first to open.