Bumper Conditions Continue in North America
26th November 2024
More snow is falling, and more resorts are opening in one of the best starts to winter in recent years. This season may be the one to head across The Pond. NEW
The latest resort to announce an early opening is Deer Valley in Utah.
It will open for season pass holders on Friday 29th November and all guests the next day.
It is the first time in the resort’s history that it has opened for Thanksgiving weekend.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our snowmaking and grooming teams and the consistent cold temperatures, we’re making history this season by welcoming skiers to the slopes during the holiday weekend,” said a statement from the resort.
“This season’s early opening is a celebration of exceptional early-season ski conditions and the hard work of our teams. We’re looking forward to welcoming our guests back to our slopes and experience the beginning of Deer Valley’s Expanded Excellence initiative” added the President & COO of Deer Valley, Todd Bennett.
🎉 Historic news from Deer Valley!
For the FIRST TIME EVER, we’re opening our slopes for Thanksgiving weekend! 🦃❄️ Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 30, and join us for an unforgettable weekend on the mountain. 🍁⛷️
📸 11/21/2024 pic.twitter.com/mt22erNMWj
— Deer Valley Resort (@Deer_Valley) November 21, 2024
Deer Valley is just one of a number of resorts taking advantage of the conditions.
Its neighbour, Park City Mountain Resort, opened last week as we reported:
In Utah Brian Head and Solitude are also open
In Colorado there has been heavy snow with many resorts open.
Wolf Creek was the first to open and others have followed including:
- Breckenridge
- Keystone
- Arapahoe Basin
- Loveland
- Winter Park
More snow is forecast this week in Colorado, but that also means there is risk of avalanche.
State avalanche officials are warning that avalanche danger is expected to reach high, Level 4 out of 5, with large and dangerous avalanches possible.
“We’re particularly worried because we’ll see the most dangerous avalanche conditions we’ve seen so far this season when more people than usual will be getting out to recreate because of the holiday,” said Colorado Avalanche Information Director, Ethan Greene.
Further north in Wyoming Jackson Hole is looking rather good and opens this Friday.
‘Winter 2024/25 starts Friday November 29th.’ by Jackson Hole Snow Report is on #SoundCloud https://t.co/bQXX1ERnpL
— Jackson Hole (@jhski) November 22, 2024
In Canada resorts around Banff in Alberta, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise & Mt Norquay, also opened ahead of planned after early snowfall.
Lake Louise was the first resort in Canada to open when it fired up its lifts in the first week of November.
Whistler in British Columbia is up and running after an earlier start than scheduled.
We have reported on the early season conditions in North America in recent weeks.
Of course the early snow doesn’t mean it will be a bumper winter as it is far too early to tell, but some UK tour operators and ski agents report good interest especially for resorts in Canada and those around Park City in Utah.
Jackson Hole continues to be on many people’s ski bucket list.
Here at PlanetSKI we’ll keep you posted as the season gets underway in North America and will be updating over the Thanksgiving Weekend.
Do check back…
