SAM Magazine - Vail, Co, December 5, 2006 - With western resorts opening more terrain by the day (the ropes drop on Vail's Back Bowls today and November was a record month for snowfall in Whistler), Eastern resorts are regrouping and European ski areas are wondering when winter will arrive.

The guns are hard at work at Seven Springs.

In the East, both New York's Gore Mountain and Whiteface will reopen after warm temperatures have stymied snowmaking, forcing them to close. Gore Mountain is expected to reopen for daily operations Thursday. Whiteface, which usually benefits from its relatively high altitude, has also suffered, but will reopen today.

"We will re-open Whiteface on Tuesday. Snowmaking resumed early Saturday morning and continues 24/7 as temperatures are now favorable. The weather forecast is calling for snow through Thursday. Winter is back!" says Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) spokesman Sandy Caligiore.

Further south, the guns at Seven Springs in Pennsylvania have been fired up again and an opening date will be announced very shortly. Whitetail has announced it will open December 9. Traveling further south still, Sugar Mountain, N.C., reopened today thanks to the colder temps.

Traveling up through northern New England, ski areas everywhere are taking advantage of the chilly weather and adding to trail counts as fast as their snowmaking allows.

The reopenings provide a bight spot of news in a rough early season (Thanksgiving week saw unseasonably warm temperatures and rain) for Eastern skiers, and more good news is on the way-the weather forecast over the next several days predicts cold weather and snow, which should be a welcome sight.

In Europe, the situation is much the same, with World Cup races being cancelled and resorts struggling with warm temperatures. \