I was hoping that the weekend storm would deliver more than was originally forecast. Instead, it was spot on with a storm total of just 4″ of snow. I admit that the mountain appears to be covered in a deep blanket of snow. It looks good from afar, but in reality it’s far from good to go.

I have been out on skis several times. While there is enough snow to skin up and slide down, our undisturbed base is only around a foot deep. It may be a bit deeper in wind-loaded areas like Pano Ridge and much less than that in areas where snowcats have traveled. Most of our top ramps and large sections of trails (including Sleepy Hollow) are completely scoured by winds that approached 80mph over the weekend.

We really need another solid storm (preferably one with heavy, dense snow) to finish setting up a base of snow to open the mountain with. It’s not just about having enough snow to open the mountain but also enough to stay open and handle the pressure of daily skiers/riders and nightly grooming. For now, we are pushing our opening date back a bit until we get more snow. The good news is that there are a few potential storms on the horizon this weekend and into the week of Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.