Resorts Open Early as Heavy Snow Falls in North America
6th November 2024
Last modified on November 26th, 2024
After a warm autumn with precious little snow things have changed dramatically.
Heavy snow is now falling across many of the ski areas and already some resorts are open.
In Canada Lake Louise in Alberta was the first main resort to open.
“November 5th marks the start to the ski season at Lake Louise Ski Resort, officially the first ski area in Canada to open its slopes this winter,” said the resort in a statement this week.
“With freshly groomed trails and a mix of beginner and intermediate runs ready to go, Lake Louise is primed for skiers and riders eager to hit the slopes for their first turns of winter.”
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Its sister resorts of Sunshine Village and Mt Norquay in Alberta are opening this weekend.
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In Alberta people are being warned about the risk of avalanche.
In the USA Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and other ski states have seen the snow.
Here’s the scene in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as it prepares for the 2024/25 season.
A fresh blanket of snow beneath stunning sunny bluebird skies has us fired up for Opening Day on Nov. 29!
Read our fresh snow blog: https://t.co/gUy4uueUrH #jacksonhole pic.twitter.com/85qmdWzB0M
— Jackson Hole (@jhski) November 6, 2024
In Colorado Keystone, Arapahoe Basin and Wolf Creek are already open.
Breckenridge opened on Friday 8th November.
“Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year and it’s a huge team effort to get here and get open for the season,” said the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort, Jon Copeland.
“Winter is never far from our minds in Breck, and as soon as we close out one season we’re already thinking about and working towards the next.
“It’s super exciting to see all the hard work pay off and to welcome our community and our employees back to the snow again.”
Winter Park is also opened on Friday, with Loveland firing up some lifts on Saturday 9th.
A few more highlights from Opening Day! We loved seeing all the smiles on the lifts and out on the slopes. Here’s to an amazing season ahead!
📸 Casey Day pic.twitter.com/PnfnwjA97m
— Loveland Ski Area (@LovelandSkiArea) November 10, 2024
It’s not just the big resorts that have opened – lets not forget Eldora.
In Utah the resorts of Brian Head and Solitude have opened.
Many people are already hiking up to make their first powder turns of the season.
In Alta in Utah the lifts aren’t set to run for a couple of weeks by dozens of backcountry skiers are walking up hill.
The cold temperatures have also allowed snow making to start.
Here’s Park City in Utah.
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See here for an earlier PlanetSKI article on new developments in the Park City area for this winter:
The first resort in California is open – Mt Rose in Lake Tahoe opened on Friday 8th November.
It has though come with some disruption to the transport system with roads blocked and people digging out their homes.
The main I-70 highway in Colorado was closed in certain sections this week.
“Given the opportunity that we had with Mother Nature blessing us with these temperatures, we figured why not go after it,” said Josh Bean, Lee Canyon’s Director of Mountain Operation, to local media.
It is a different story in the Alps where a high-pressure system has been sitting over Europe, but there is finally some change and snow in the forecast.
Check out our latest snow report with full details of the approaching snow and current conditions:
We will be updating this article as snow falls in the USA and Canada with more resorts opening ahead of the start of the full season at the end of November.
Do check back…
