These conditions at Hurricane Ridge translate to a later opening day than locals had hoped for.
Coming off one of the most intense, snow-filled winters in most of our lifetimes, several U.S. resorts were barely shutting down their lifts this past 4th of July. If anything, that seemed like little more than a formality for them to tidy things up, do some maintenance work, and catch their breath before the weather started to cool down and snow started falling all over again heading into this winter.
That’s certainly the case at Mammoth, for example, which fired the lifts back up in early November. But everybody isn’t so lucky. In Lake Tahoe, Heavenly and Northstar, two of Tahoe’s largest resorts and each on opposite sides of the lake, both announced they needed help from Mother Nature before they could get the season started. Sugar Bowl said the same when officials pushed its opening back from November 24 to December 1, hoping the extra week would create an opportunity for safe operation.
“This adjustment is necessary to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all who plan to visit Sugar Bowl. In the meantime, our snowmaking team is ready to flip the switch on our fleet of high-powered snow guns across the resort, whenever conditions allow,” an announcement from Sugar Bowl said.
Several resorts have started the season too, in spite of getting very little snow thus far, while some of the area’s resorts are simply pushing opening days back.
The Northwest U.S. is having the same slow start. Mount Bachelor was supposed to open the day after Thanksgiving and had hoped to hold to that after some early season snow, but they’ve ultimately postponed the opening day indefinitely, citing warmer temps recently and the need for one more solid storm in order to operate safely. Crystal Mountain and Hurricane Ridge are two other Northwest resorts on delay, representing both the larger resorts and the smaller local hills impacted. Hurricane Ridge had originally targeted the first weekend of December but is now saying it may not even open by the weekend of December 9.
“In order to operate, we need at least three feet more of heavy, dense snow,” Hurricane announced over the weekend. “If you are in the ski area just to enjoy the snow, please stay clear of moving equipment and use the winter hiking routes if grooming is taking place.”
Meanwhile, Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain had targeted a November 25 opening that was ultimately pushed back by one whole day, citing the same warmer and wetter conditions as a setback in its schedule. In the end, that extra day was used to make more snow and get more runs open, but it just goes to show the range of plans resorts big and small are navigating in order to get lifts running.
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