Thanks to air, water and snow guns, Utah's ski season opened before Thanksgiving. Thanks to air, water and the right storm track, the season will continue through Thanksgiving and hopefully into May.
Park City and Brighton, in a neck-and-neck race to be the first, opened at precisely the same time - noon on Nov. 10. Solitude followed that weekend, and Brian Head the following week.Now, with Monday's storm, other resorts will enjoy some holiday business.
Next to open will be Snowbird and likely Alta. Snowbird has targeted Thursday (Thanksgiving) as its opening date, and officials at Alta simply say, as is routine, "We'll open when we're ready, and that means when we can offer good, Alta skiing." It's unlikely Alta will be open by Thursday.
Snowbird, Alta, Brighton and Solitude received about two feet of snow from Monday's storm.The snow was light and looked good, reported several resort officials, but didn't pack well.
Beaver Mountain, Elk Meadows, Powder Mountain and Snowbasin are also waiting for the right snow depth.
Deer Valley will open Dec. 4, Nordic Valley Dec. 3, and Sundance and ParkWest Dec. 10.
It's not unusual for resorts to open this close to the first winter holiday.
What's in store for skiers this year?
William Alder, meteorologist in charge of the Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service, is predicting a "normal" winter. But don't look for a winter like last year. The winter of 1992-93 was the second heaviest snowfall in nearly 50 years.
Still, what Utah considers normal is anything but to most resorts around the country. Average snowfall for Colorado's big three - Aspen, Vail and Steamboat - is about 310 inches a year. Average snowfall back in Vermont is around 200 inches.
What skiers will see is some noticeable changes in Utah's resorts. First, a jump in ticket prices - anywhere from nothing to $2.
- PARK CITY added some lifts. The King Consolidated triple chair was replaced with a new, high-speed detachable quad chair. The old King Con triple chair was then moved to the front side of Ski Team Ridge, and renamed Eagle Chair.
Two new runs were then cut from the midway station of the Eagle lift, and plans call for a new race run to be cut next summer.
- BRIAN HEAD put in a $4.5 million snowmaking system this past summer. The system covers about 1/3 of the skiable terrain. The Giant Steps Lodge also was remodeled.
- DEER VALLEY added a new high-speed quad, 10 new runs and additional snowmaking on Flagstaff mountain as part of a $3 million expansion and improvement program. A new double chair was also put on Bald Eagle Mountain's Wide West Run.
- PARKWEST added four new runs, a new snowboard park, and expanded its snowmaking.
- SOLITUDE built the new Nordic Day Lodge at Silver Lake. The 2,000 square-foot lodge is a complete cross-country facility, including rentals, retail shop and food service.