SAM Magazine—Reno, Nev., Nov. 8, 2024—Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe dropped ropes today on 1,000 vertical feet of skiing and riding. It’s one of several western ski areas to open for the early season in recent days.Courtesy of Breckenridge

Natural snow and cold temps that allowed Mt. Rose to fire up its snow guns enabled the resort to be the first to open in the Tahoe region. For opening weekend, Mt. Rose will operate the Lakeview Express chairlift and a surface lift, serving several intermediate trails as well as beginner terrain and a terrain park, with more trails expected to come online as snowmaking conditions permit.

“Ahead of the season, we reinvested more than $2.2 million in the resort experience, including snowmaking system enhancements, trail improvements, and a new snowcat to support our ability to offer a high-quality snow surface all season long,” said Mike Pierce, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe marketing and sales director, adding that they were thrilled to kick off their 60th season with another early November opening.

Lee Canyon claimed the title of first ski area to open in Nevada on Nov. 2, when it opened for skiing and snowboarding on its beginner terrain as well as for mountain biking. Lee Canyon has since wrapped its mountain biking operations and is currently offering weekend skiing and riding. 

Arizona Snowbowl opened today, Nov. 8, with a foot of fresh snow. Plentiful early-season storms and snowmaking opportunities allowed the ski area to bump up its scheduled Nov. 22 opening day by several weeks. Snowbowl is spinning its Arizona Gondola with access to advanced trails only.

In Utah, Brian Head started spinning its lifts today as well. It marks the ski area’s second earliest opening day ever. Brian Head will run the Pioneer and Navajo Express lifts, with access to six runs.

Mt. Rose, Brian Head, Lee Canyon, and Arizona Snowbowl all use dynamic pricing for day tickets. In the case of the Snowbowl, early season tickets are going for as little as $19 and as much as $99. Brian Head, Snowbowl, and Lee Canyon are all owned by Mountain Capital Partners.

Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta kicked off its season today with a CA$68 ticket for lift-served skiing and riding off the resort’s Strawberry Express and Mitey Mite Carpet, with downloading offered via The Gondola. An update to the resort’s website credited “some high-quality dense snow and the hard work from our operations team” for the early start to the season.

Neighboring Lake Louise Ski Resort was able to open early on Nov. 5 thanks to the recent snowfall and favorable snowmaking conditions. In addition to its Glacier Chair, the resort started spinning its Grizzly Express gondola today as well. “Day passes remain at 50 [percent] while we continue to open new terrain,” the resort advertised in a post to Instagram. 

Lookout Pass, Idaho, opened with a $30 ticket today for its 90th season. The ski area is spinning two chairs with access to 16 trails. After this weekend, it will close midweek, with plans to reopen on Friday, Nov. 15. 

In Colorado, Breckenridge Resort opened its Peak 8 today after a storm dropped 2 feet of snow on the resort earlier in the week. Breck’s Colorado chair and Five chair will provide access to primarily intermediate terrain on two trails, with two learning carpets available for beginners. 

Copper Mountain and Winter Park also opened today. Copper calculated its storm total at 28 inches since Sunday, Nov. 3. The resort is spinning its American Eagle lift with access to a variety of terrain including the American Eagle terrain park for a $174 opening day ticket. Winter Park is selling a $69 ticket with access to 30 skiable acres, double its available opening day terrain from last year.

Snowmaking allowed Keystone Resort and Arapahoe Basin to both drop ropes on Nov. 2. Keystone opened with more than 2 miles of skiing and riding. A-Basin is spinning its Black Mountain Express with access to its High Noon trail.

In his most recent blog post, A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth said that snowmakers were allowing the snowmaking reservoir to refill as part of their efforts to get the ski area’s upper mountain open. “We have had some snow already this week and the forecast looks good. I like the outlook,” he wrote.

Eldora Mountain opened yesterday, Nov. 7, eight days ahead of schedule with a $99 early-season ticket. The ski area is spinning its Alpenglow chair, with access to 1,000 vertical feet of intermediate and advanced terrain.

Loveland Ski Area plans to open for the season tomorrow, Nov. 9. Loveland will have 1,000 vertical feet of top-to-bottom skiing and riding off the Chet’s Dream lift, with a $119 early-season ticket. 

Timberline, Ore., will open tomorrow as well with access to intermediate and advanced terrain off its Pucci and Molly’s lifts.

As previously reported, Wolf Creek, Colo., opened for the season Oct. 22, and Ski Ward, Mass., began offering limited skiing and riding off its beginner surface lift Oct. 21. 

Warm temps have limited snowmaking efforts in the Northeast, although Sunday River, Maine, did open for a day of skiing and riding on Halloween. Temps are starting to cool in the Midwest and some early season snowflakes have dusted a few ski areas in the region, but snowmaking at resorts doesn’t appear to have started in earnest yet.