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In one of the driest years the West has seen in decades, more than a third of the nearly 100 ski resorts in the Intermountain West have yet to set an opening date.
Several have already opened — all in Colorado. But dozens of others in the region remain either undecided or have moved that date back from their original announcement.
“Anyone who has been in Steamboat, or has been anxiously watching our mountain cameras, knows that Mother Nature hasn’t been cooperating this pre-season,” Dave Hunter, the Colorado resort’s vice president of operations, said in a news release. “Normally this time of year we have more than 20 inches of snowfall that has remained (not melted), a 10- to 20-inch mid-mountain base, and 200 hours of snowmaking under our belt. This year we haven’t been able to capitalize on extended snowmaking temperatures and windows with only eight hours of total snowmaking.”
Snow accumulation hasn’t been the only challenge many winter sports communities are hoping to recover amid the pandemic’s economic impact. Hiring enough workers to run a resort and the surrounding support services has been another challenge, as the Deseret News recently reported.
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches — traditionally the opening weekend for many ski areas across the West — here is a list of resorts throughout much of the Intermountain West and when they hope to open for the 2021-22 ski season. Opening dates may have changed by the time you read this:
Resort Opening Dates
| State | Name of Resort | Opening Date |
|---|---|---|
| State | Name of Resort | Opening Date |
| AZ | Arizona Snowbowl | Unspecified |
| AZ | Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley | Unspecified |
| AZ | Sunrise Park Resort | December 3 |
| CO | Araphahoe Basin Ski Area | Open |
| CO | Aspen Highlands - Aspen Snowmass Resort | December 11 |
| CO | Aspen Mountain - Aspen Snowmass Resort | November 25 |
| CO | Beaver Creek Resort | November 24 |
| CO | Breckenridge Ski Resort | Open |
| CO | Buttermilk Mountain - Aspen Snowmass Resort | December 11 |
| CO | Copper Mountain | November 22 |
| CO | Crested Butte Mountain Resort | November 24 |
| CO | Echo Mountain | Unspecified |
| CO | Eldora Mountain | November 19 |
| CO | Granby Ranch | December 11 |
| CO | Hesperus Ski Area | Unspecified |
| CO | Howelsen Hill Ski Area | December 4 |
| CO | Kendall Mountain Ski Area | December 17 |
| CO | Keystone Resort | Open |
| CO | Lake City Ski Hill | Unspecified |
| CO | Loveland Ski Area | Open |
| CO | Monarch Mountain | Unspecified |
| CO | Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park | Unspecified |
| CO | Powderhorn Mountain Resort | Unspecified |
| CO | Purgatory Resort | November 21 |
| CO | Silverton Mountain | November 25 |
| CO | Ski Cooper | December 8 |
| CO | Snowmass - Aspen Snowmass Resort | November 25 |
| CO | Steamboat Ski Resort | November 27 |
| CO | Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort | December 10 |
| CO | Telluride Ski Resort | December 3 |
| CO | Vail Ski Resort | Open |
| CO | Winter Park Resort | Open |
| CO | Wolf Creek Ski Area | November 24 |
| ID | Bald Mountain - Sun Valley Ski Resort | November 25 |
| ID | Bogus Basin Recreation Area | Unspecified |
| ID | Brundage Mountain Resort | Unspecified |
| ID | Cottonwood Butte Ski Area | Unspecified |
| ID | Dollar Mountain - Sun Valley Ski Resort | December 10 |
| ID | Kelly Canyon Ski Resort | Unspecified |
| ID | Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area | December 11 |
| ID | Magic Mountain Resort | Unspecified |
| ID | Pebble Creek Ski Area | Unspecified |
| ID | Pomerelle Mountain Resort | Unspecified |
| ID | Rotarun Ski Area | December 18 |
| ID | Schweitzer Mountain Resort | November 26 |
| ID | Silver Mountain Resort | November 26 |
| ID | Snowhaven Ski and Tubing Area | Unspecified |
| ID | Soldier Mountain | December 4 |
| ID | Tamarack Resort | November 26 |
| MT | Bear Paw Ski Bowl | Unspecified |
| MT | Big Sky Resort | November 25 |
| MT | Blacktail Mountain Ski Area | Unspecified |
| MT | Bridger Bowl Ski Area | December 10 |
| MT | Discovery Ski Area | November 25 |
| MT | Great Divide Ski Area | November 26 |
| MT | Lost Trail Ski Area | December 2 |
| MT | Maverick Mountain Ski Area | December 19 |
| MT | Montana Snowbowl | December 10 |
| MT | Red Lodge Mountain | November 26 |
| MT | Showdown Montana | December 10 |
| MT | Teton Pass Ski Resort | December 10 |
| MT | Turner Mountain Ski Area | December 17 |
| MT | Whitefish Mountain Resort | December 7 |
| NV | Diamond Peak Ski Resort | December 9 |
| NV | Elko Snowbowl | Unspecified |
| NV | Lee Canyon | Unspecified |
| NV | Mt. Rose - Ski Tahoe | Unspecified |
| NV | Sky Tavern | Unspecified |
| UT | Alta Ski Area | November 24 |
| UT | Beaver Mountain Ski Area | Unspecified |
| UT | Brian Head Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Brighton Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Cherry Peak Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Deer Valley Resort | December 4 |
| UT | Eagle Point Resort | December 17 |
| UT | Nordic Valley Ski Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Park City Mountain Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Powder Mountain | Unspecified |
| UT | Snowbasin Resort | Unspecified |
| UT | Snowbird | December 1 |
| UT | Solitude Mountain Resort | November 23 |
| UT | Sundance Ski Resort | December 10 |
| UT | Woodward Park City | November 26 |
| WY | Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area | Unspecified |
| WY | Grand Targhee Resort | Unspecified |
| WY | Hogadon Ski Area | December 11 |
| WY | Jackson Hole Mountain Resort | November 25 |
| WY | Meadowlark Ski Lodge | Unspecified |
| WY | Pine Creek Ski Resort | Unspecified |
| WY | Sleeping Giant Ski Area | December 4 |
| WY | Snow King Mountain Resort | December 4 |
| WY | Snowy Range Ski Area | December 4 |
| WY | White Pine Ski Resort | Unspecified |
K. Sophie Will is a Deseret News contributor. @ksophiewill