12 April, 2011 - Salt Lake City, UT - While April showers are already prompting flowers to bloom around many parts of the U.S., many ski resorts in the West are blanketed with their deepest snow bases of the season. Some are already planning to keep the lifts turning into May and beyond.
“This past weekend was unquestionably some of the best skiing of the season,” said Dave Fields, Vice President at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah. “La Niña storms keep lining up for Little Cottonwood, and at this rate we could be topping our snowiest and longest season on record.”
Snowbird has already received more than six feet of snowfall in the first 10 days of April alone, bringing snow depths on the mountain to 180 inches. Standing as of today at 631 inches, Snowbird is fast approaching the record 688-inch mark that was set during the 1983-84 season. The latest closing date in the history of the Little Cottonwood Canyon resort is July 4, set in 2005. Snowbird plans to offer skiing and riding until Memorial Day Weekend this year and potentially beyond if the impressive snowpack holds.
Snowfall next door at Alta Ski Area has accumulated 637 inches season to date and base depths have settled back to 189 inches after reaching a season-long high of 196 inches over the weekend. Alta is set to close on Easter Sunday, April 24, but will reopen for a bonus weekend April 29 to May 1, marking the first time in many years that Alta has operated into May.
In California, officials at Squaw Valley USA say that they've hit the 700 inch mark for cumulative season snowfall for the first time ever. With records dating back to 1970, Squaw Valley USA previously beat their highest recorded season snowfall total of 662 inches during an epic March that brought 211 inches (17 feet) of snow to the resort, which has greatly exceeded its 450-inch average annual snowfall total.
“With 700 inches of snow, we are going to have amazing spring skiing through our extended closing date of May 30,” said Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have so much snow that we will be examining the possibility of opening for the 4th of July, conditions permitting.”
Following May 8, the resort will move to Friday through Sunday operations, offering skiing and riding May 13-16, May 20-22 and May 27-30, 2011. Additional days of operation include Monday, May 16, for the Stage 2 start of the Amgen Tour of California and Monday, May 30, the Memorial Day holiday.
Alpine Meadows on Lake Tahoe's North Shore will remain operating through May 15. Officials at nearby Sugar Bowl Resort west of Truckee, Calif., have decided to extend their ski and ride season to Sunday, May 1st. Boreal Mountain Resort, also near Truckee, will remain open daily through April 24 and weekends only into May, snow and business conditions permitting, while Donner Ski Ranch anticipates staying open through June. South of Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood has extended its ski and ride season into early May. On the Nevada side of the lake Mt. Rose–Ski Tahoe expects to stay open through May 6.
California's spring king this year, however, is Mammoth Mountain which has already confirmed that it will keep operating to July 4th this year, something it's done for four of the past seven seasons. Mammoth has racked up 624 inches so far this season, which resort officials say is the most the resort has ever received in a single season.
April roared in like a lion at Mt. Hood Meadows as a powerful storm delivered four feet of new snow to the Oregon ski and snowboard resort last week, bringing the snowpack to a season high 152 inches before settling back to 145 inches on Monday.
Meadows is scheduled to operate until May 1, and will most likely extend the season on weekends in May as it has the past several seasons, depending on conditions, weather and turnout.
In Idaho, Brundage Mountain in McCall will operate weekends only through May 1 and possibly beyond for as long as snow conditions permit.
“The past several years, we’ve been able to offer Bonus Weekends all the way into the month of May,” says resort spokesperson April Russell. “One of these years, we’d like to see if we can make it to June.”
Season extensions haven't been limited to the West. Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington, N.Y., near Lake Placid, is scheduled to reopen for a bonus weekend this Friday through Sunday. In Vermont, Stratton Mountain will do the same this Saturday and Sunday.
source: www.firsttracksonline.com
Deep Snowpack Prompts Ski Resorts to Extend Season
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