UPDATE: Alta has now announced that they too are pushing back opening day to sometime after November 24th. Go to alta.com to stay updated.
The winter of 2016/17 is starting out as weird as the Presidential election. Nobody predicted that Utah would feel like summer in mid-November, and skiing pundits are scratching their heads trying to figure out when we will be making turns in the Wasatch. A warm, dry weather pattern has invaded Utah and no amount of prayers to Ullr or snow dances around bonfires has been able to kick it out and let the cold air in. As a result, two ski resorts have announced that they are pushing back their opening dates for the 2016/17 ski season.
First, Solitude made the call earlier in the week, announcing that they have to postpone opening day due to weather. Even if it doesn’t snow, resorts can open before Thanksgiving week by making snow with snow guns – the only catch is that the air must be cold enough for snowmaking… and that definitely has not been happening so far, even in the mountains.
Then later in the week, Snowbird sent out the bad news that they too will be postponing opening day, which was originally slated for November 19.
However, both resorts are feeling optimistic, as a cold front finally reaches the Wasatch in the middle of next week, which hopefully will bring in snow, and at the very least, cold enough air for snow making.
There is no word yet from any of the other resorts about their opening days. While many resorts don’t announce when they will open so early in the fall, a quick glance at Ski Utah’s website shows that Alta still plans on opening on November 18th. Brian Head, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain, Snowbasin, and Sundance all still show their original opening dates. Let’s hope it stays that way, because I’d hate to see all of Utah’s resorts forced to open late because of these dreaded dry spells.
Then again, for us backcountry skiers, this has been a good thing. Fall storms tend to leave a rotting snowpack which leads to weak layers that cause avalanches throughout the season. A dry fall means that when it does finally snow, chances are good that the storms will keep coming, layering a solid snowpack that will be more safe for backcountry travel.
In the end, we will all be skiing in Utah very soon. Besides, skiing this early isn’t that great anyway. As my buddy Mason Diedrich likes to say, early-season turns is “like skiing a white G-string on the bare ass of the Wasatch.” Nobody wants that, now do they?
To keep up to date on Utah’s ski resort openings, check back with SkiUtah.com