The ski season has started in the East! We first saw Sommet Saint-Sauveur in Quebec open for the season on Monday in the most rapid fashion possible, then on Tuesday Sugar Mountain, NC became the first on the US East Coast to open, again in rapid fashion but with the help of even colder temps than we have seen in the Northeast. On Wednesday Killington opened with over 20 acres of terrain boasting the most they have ever had on opening day, Sunday River managed to match their opening despite a pump incident during some downtime that they heroically rushed to repair, and Cataloochee in North Carolina also joined in. It was an impressive show by snowmakers all over.
We already know that Whiteface will open off the summit for Saturday and Sunday, and with day tickets of just $65 that's a top pick for those who don't have pass coverage to ski. Gore and Belleayre have also announced opening the following weekend with a passholder-only day on Friday along with Whiteface.
Will anyone else join? Bretton Woods just teased an opening announcement "soon", and while we don't have inside knowledge of their plans, we expect them to open on Saturday. The only other wildcard barring a huge surprise elsewhere is Black Mountain, NH who just shared what they have been working on and in addition to lots of lodge, parking lot, and other work, included 5 miles of snowmaking pipe and 200 new snowguns. They have also been making snow since early in the week and they said "it will be a quick decision, with little notice" and "opening day will be limited to our faithful Season and Indy Passholders." If they open it would probably be mistation to summit. Be on the lookout for that to happen either Saturday or the following weekend!
We're likely to have 4 or possibly 5 ski areas operating this weekend in the Northeast! By the following weekend that will be over a dozen, and by Black Friday we expect many medium to large sized ski areas in NY, MA, VT, NH, and ME to be open. I am sorry however to say that I don't see the temps in the medium range for PA and NJ to make it open but there is enough time for that to change.
Terrain Outlook
I'm going to walk through all 3 ski areas that have announced opening plus Bretton Woods.
Killington
Starting off with Killington, kudos to their great guidance and transparency in terms of their efforts and expected timing. They are targeting Saturday for top to bottom skiing off of Snowdon and they will be dropping ropes Friday on the remaining upper mountain terrain that they have been working on. This is by far the most terrain in the East.
Sunday River
They are currently operating off of T2 and Upper Sunday Punch on Locke with uploading and downloading on the Locke Triple. They have been making snow on Sunday Punch back to the base and also over on Jordan on Rogue Angle and Lollapalooza. The problem is their lower elevation and base temps, and we only see a short window at the bases on Friday morning and then window possibly twice as long on Saturday morning. I doubt this will be enough to get Jordan open after really only one strong night making snow down low, but with more firepower on opening terrain on Locke I do think it is possible that they make it top to bottom by Saturday which would really help shorten lines. If they do it would probably be on small whales and pretty thin near the lift, but who doesn't like whales?
Whiteface
No speculation is necessary as their plans are in print. You will upload and download on the Face Lift, and lap the Summit Quad. Terrain will be Riva Ridge from the top into both Paron's Run and The Follies, and then the lower path will be pieced together through Excelsior, Ilmar’s Alley, Lower Northway, and Summit Express.
Bretton Woods
I'm less certain here regarding Bretton Woods as they have not provided any updates and they have no webcam visibility, but I do know they've been working on Outer Bounds from the Gondola to the top of Zephyr and Range View back to the base. That may be their only run and it's all green, and the best choice for higher level beginners and intermediates at this time...should they open but I strongly believe they will.
The Weather Outlook This Weekend
Saturday is the day, but Sunday will be tricky, especially at Whiteface and Killington, though Bretton Woods has a chance of not getting icy, and Sunday River has a chance of possibly even staying all snow! This isn't a big dump, but clearly flake are better than drops.
