LET IT SNOW Rocky Mountains ski resorts delay Thanksgiving openings

Posted on 11/24/2016

Ski resorts in Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah have been forced to delay opening for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend or have few ski runs open because unseasonably warm weather limited their ability to make man-made snow.

In Wyoming, resorts at Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole were not predicting Wednesday when they would open.
The opening delay for Grand Targhee Resort came after it got nearly 60 inches of snow in October that ended up melting on the lower mountain slopes during a warm and dry November, said spokesman Ken Rider, forcing the ski area to delay the start to its season for the first time since 1998.
In recent years, many Western US ski resorts started opening by Thanksgiving.
Sun Valley Resort in central Idaho said only one run will be open on Thursday and likely through the holiday weekend.
“They tried making snow for two or three days but it got to 50 to 55 degrees and that hurt,” said Jake Hanson, a ski resort ticket salesperson.
But workers were making snow Wednesday morning and natural snow was falling, giving some hope for skiers arriving for the long holiday weekend.
“It's snowing right now and they're working hard to get snow up there,” Hanson said. “They're going full blast.”
A ski resort in southern New Mexico won't be able to open on Thanksgiving due to warm temperatures and minimal precipitation.
KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas reported Ski Apache in New Mexico has delayed opening until mid-December.
Ski Apache spokesman Justin Huffmon said the resort tried to make snow, but it has not been enough so far.
Colorado ski resorts will postpone their opening but some are still offering activities for visitors over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Snowpack in Colorado's mountains is at its lowest level in 30 years and the Beaver Creek resort pushed back its opening day from Wednesday to Friday.
Telluride Ski Resort, which won't open until Dec. 2, has created a “snow play area” for sledding, as well as a small terrain park for skiers and snowboarders.
On Thanksgiving Day, Aspen Skiing Company plans to offer free sightseeing by gondola on Aspen Mountain and Snowmass to mark its opening day. But skiing and riding will be limited to Snowmass.
A number of other resorts will be open for the holiday weekend and fresh snow is expected to fall in the mountains Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Steamboat Springs and Winter Park opened on Wednesday and Wolf Creek and Crested Butte are set to open Thursday.