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Opening Dates, 2020

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Post 'em when you know 'em:

Okemo (VT): November 21
Mount Snow (VT): November 14
Stowe (VT): November 20
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Sunday River is, “as soon as mother nature allows!” Usually translates to the very end of October to early November.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Here are other Vail opening dates,

New England:
Attitash: December 4
Crotched: December 5
Hunter: November 20
Mount Sunapee: November 25
Wildcat: November 13

Mid-Atlantic:
Big Boulder: December 4
Jack Frost: December 11
Liberty: December 18
Round Top: December 11
Whitetail: December 18

Rockies:
Vail: November 20
Beaver Creek: November 25
Breckenridge: November 13
Park City: November 20
Keystone: November 6
Crested Butte: November 25

West:
Heavenly: November 20
Northstar: November 20
Kirkwood: December 4
Stevens Pass: December 4

Midwest:
Wilmot Mountain: December 5
Afton Alps: December 4
Mt Brighton: December 5
Alpine Valley: December 19
Boston Mills: December 19
Brandywine: December 19
Mad River Mountain: December 19
Hidden Valley: December 19
Snow Creek: December 19
Paoli Peaks: December 19

Canada:
Whistler Blackcomb: November 26
 
Last edited:

marzNC

Angel Diva
Here's the list sorted by date within each region. Certainly looks like VR wants to have people on the slopes during Thanksgiving week at destination resorts.

NEW ENGLAND
Wildcat: November 13
Mount Snow: November 14
Hunter: November 20
Stowe: November 20
Okemo: November 21
Mount Sunapee: November 25
Attitash: December 4
Crotched: December 5

MID-ATLANTIC
Big Boulder: December 4
Round Top: December 11
Jack Frost: December 11
Liberty: December 18
Whitetail: December 18

ROCKIES
Keystone: November 6
Breckenridge: November 13
Vail: November 20
Park City: November 20
Beaver Creek: November 25
Crested Butte: November 25

WEST
Heavenly: November 20
Northstar: November 20
Kirkwood: December 4
Stevens Pass: December 4

MIDWEST
Afton Alps: December 4
Wilmot Mountain: December 5
Mt Brighton: December 5
December 19: Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine, Mad River Mountain, Hidden Valley, Snow Creek, Paoli Peaks

CANADA
Whistler Blackcomb: November 26
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Snowshoe announced that the Basin and Western Territories will open Nov. 25. Per usual Silver Creek will be later, target date is Dec. 18.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
It's not unexpected and makes total sense, but pretty surreal that they won't be able to open as early as possible this year.
One clear lesson from Australia's early season is that it's much better to wait and open with as much open terrain and lifts as possible. Given that relatively few people ski during the first weeks, probably not a time when ski resorts actually are making money in any case.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
One clear lesson from Australia's early season is that it's much better to wait and open with as much open terrain and lifts as possible. Given that relatively few people ski during the first weeks, probably not a time when ski resorts actually are making money in any case.

Yeah, I've been wondering if Sunday River will follow suit or not. They are usually the other early opener in New England. When asked on social media they have only responded with "we will open as soon as mother nature allows as usual". We also got an email from our GM who stated "we do plan to open as early as possible for skiing and riding". We'll see when they announce a more detailed official plan though. The lines get really long opening day, so I think they'd need to do something different than usual. I'm not sure if just restricting to passholders would be enough or not. I doubt it because it's probably passholders for the most part to begin with haha.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Pico, which is owned by Killington, will open late December. No firm date yet.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Yeah, I've been wondering if Sunday River will follow suit or not. They are usually the other early opener in New England. When asked on social media they have only responded with "we will open as soon as mother nature allows as usual". We also got an email from our GM who stated "we do plan to open as early as possible for skiing and riding". We'll see when they announce a more detailed official plan though. The lines get really long opening day, so I think they'd need to do something different than usual. I'm not sure if just restricting to passholders would be enough or not. I doubt it because it's probably passholders for the most part to begin with haha.
Do you think parking reservations make sense for Sunday River? In particular for early season when not all the peaks are open yet.

I went to SR the weekend after Thanksgiving once when you couldn't even ski off the chondola. It had been too warm for enough snow to load the chairs. Made the line midday completely ridiculous.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Do you think parking reservations make sense for Sunday River? In particular for early season when not all the peaks are open yet.

I went to SR the weekend after Thanksgiving once when you couldn't even ski off the chondola. It had been too warm for enough snow to load the chairs. Made the line midday completely ridiculous.

I'm not sure to be honest. Early season starts at Barker, and that's a pretty small lot. Then people would park at South Ridge and take the shuttle over I believe which I'm not sure whether that'll be an option or not this season.

I haven't thought about it that much since my condo rental is on mountain and I'll be parking there, not at the base areas. Until South Ridge is open I won't be ski in ski out, but I would just get dropped off at Barker and not actually park anywhere.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Pico, which is owned by Killington, will open late December. No firm date yet.

Skiology Matt has the projected opening day for Pico as December 19th specifically on a Facebook post today. Not sure where it comes from though since I only read it there.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Skiology Matt has the projected opening day for Pico as December 19th specifically on a Facebook post today. Not sure where it comes from though since I only read it there.
The Pico opening date of Dec. 19 is in the long Sept. 10 announcement by Mike Solimano, Pres/GM of Killington/Pico. It's buried on the Kton website and was posted on the Kton Facebook page. Going around in various news outlets and ski forums. I saw it on NYSkiBlog.

https://www.killington.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here/20-21-winter-experience?page=6661

Opening by the weekend of Dec. 19-20 means the Pico terrain will be available for Christmas week. Dec. 25 is a Friday in 2020. But what's different is that many colleges will finish the fall semester just before Thanksgiving.

 

MissySki

Angel Diva
The Pico opening date of Dec. 19 is in the long Sept. 10 announcement by Mike Solimano, Pres/GM of Killington/Pico. It's buried on the Kton website and was posted on the Kton Facebook page. Going around in various news outlets and ski forums. I saw it on NYSkiBlog.

https://www.killington.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here/20-21-winter-experience?page=6661

Opening by the weekend of Dec. 19-20 means the Pico terrain will be available for Christmas week. Dec. 25 is a Friday in 2020. But what's different is that many colleges will finish the fall semester just before Thanksgiving.


ahh thanks! I didn’t go too in depth on the announcement reading outside of the highlights.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Ski Utah has some opening dates listed as of early Sept. Last year a few places were overly optimistic about early season snow coverage after the first few snowstorms and had to delay opening dates. Alterra seems to be sticking with traditional opening dates for Solitude and Deer Valley. Vail Resorts normally opens Park City lifts by late Nov, meaning just before Thanksgiving week. However, VR is delaying until just before Christmas in order to have the maximum amount of terrain open.

Utah Opening Dates 2020-21, as of Sept. 13

Nov. 20: Brian Head
Nov. 20: Solitude
Nov. 21: Alta
Nov. 25: Snowbasin
Dec. 4: Sundance
Dec. 5: Deer Valley
Dec. 18: Eagle Point
Dec. 20: Park City

TBD
Beaver
Brighton
Cherry Peak
Nordic Valley
Powder Mountain
Snowbird
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Since the Ikon reservation webpage also had Opening Dates, here's what was listed as of Sept. 15. Note that this is a mix of Alterra resorts and Ikon partners.

IKON OPENING DATES - last updated 15Sep2020

COLORADO
Nov 18: Winter Park
Nov 23: Eldora
Nov 26: Jackson Hole
Nov 26: Aspen Mountain
Nov 26: Snowmass
Nov 30: Copper
Dec 12: Aspen Highlands
Dec 18: Buttermilk

WEST
Nov 4: Mammoth
Nov 25: Squaw/Alpine
Nov 26: Big Sky
Nov 26: Taos
Dec 19: June Mountain

VERMONT
Nov 14: Killington
Nov 21: Sugarbush
Nov 25: Stratton
Dec 19: Pico

Nov 25: Snowshoe, WV

Oct 31: Norquay, ALB
Nov 20: Tremblant, QUE
Nov 27: Revelstoke, BC
Dec 12: RED Mountain, BC
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Sunday River has announced that they will open as soon as possible, but rather than the mid mountain and downloading early season skiing we are used to, they will not open until there is top to bottom skiing without the need for downloading. They will start out with passholders only at that time. Not completely clear from their text if that includes Ikon or not.

Winter 2020-21
While many things remain uncertain about the future, we're committed to delivering a fun and safe experience this winter. Below is an overview of what to expect based on our current plans.

On-Mountain
  • Opening day will be based on when we are able to offer top-to-bottom skiing with no lift downloading. We will initially open to passholders only.
  • We remain dedicated to providing the most dependable snow in New England, and will push to open new terrain as fast as possible and take advantage of our expansive resort footprint to spread skiers out.
  • Lift line layouts will be adjusted to allow spacing between lanes.
  • Lift capacity will be reduced by not combining parties on chairs, and limiting single loading onto one or two based on chair capacity.
  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) gates at chairlifts will allow direct-to-lift access for passholders and lift ticket purchasers, and limit guest-to-team member contact.
  • Face coverings will be required across the resort including while riding lifts.
Ticketing
  • We do not currently plan on requiring reservations for Season Pass, Ikon Pass, or ticket pack holders.
  • Season passes and ticket packs are on sale through October 12, and will go off sale after that point.
  • Lift tickets may have limited availability on peak dates. Tickets in ski and stay packages will not be affected.
  • Online lift ticket purchases will be encouraged and possibly required, with contactless pickup kiosks in all base lodges and hotels.
  • The Welcome Center at South Ridge Lodge will have expanded hours on Friday nights for ticket pickup to avoid Saturday morning congestion and delays.
Parking & Shuttles
  • New parking areas will be available for day-use parking at the Grand Summit and Jordan Hotels.
  • Both hotels will have space available for day guest use with full amenities, except bag storage.
  • Shuttle capacity will be reduced to 2/3 on all vehicles.
  • Shuttle routes and drop-off locations will vary based on lodge capacity at the time of pick-up.
  • Use of drop-off areas at each base lodge will be encouraged for families and groups to reduce shuttle volume.
Base Lodges
  • Masks will be required in all indoor public spaces, except when seated to eat.
  • Guests are encouraged to minimize the amount of time spent in base lodges, with a limit of 30 minutes.
  • Seating will be limited to 50 people per room with six feet of distance between tables.
  • Bag storage will be limited to bag check areas at each lodge Bag check services will be expanded, but based on availability. No bags can be left in open areas. Guests are encouraged to leave bags in their car if possible.
  • Restroom access will be limited to exterior entrances only to reduce walking traffic through lodges.
  • The Grand Summit and Jordan Hotels will have day guest facilities for booting up, warm-up breaks, seating, and eating. There will be no bag storage available.
Food & Beverage
  • Seating in all restaurants will be limited to 50 per room with no standing areas, following state guidelines.
  • New lunch options:
    • Grand Ave at the Jordan Hotel will have soup offerings and seating.
    • Camp at the Grand Summit Hotel will offer seated lunch service.
    • New bar added upstairs in White Cap Lodge by Shipyard Brew Haus.
    • Online ordering available for interior and exterior pick-up from the South Ridge Food Court.
SnowSports School
  • Adjustments will be made to meeting times and locations.
  • Designated warming areas will be available for SnowSports School programs.
Equipment Rentals
  • Expanded hours on Friday night at South Ridge Lodge for weekend arrivals.
  • Online reservations will be encouraged.
Events
  • No large gathering events are planned.
  • Competitions will follow the guidelines of each event's governing body.


We will continue to work with Boyne Resorts, as well as our partners at Ski Maine and the National Ski Areas Association to determine best practices while following the guidelines set by the State of Maine.
 

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