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Snow King Ski Area will open its Cougar and Summit chairs to the public Saturday, finally kicking off lift service this winter at the Town Hill.

Skiers and snowboarders did not wait. As documented in the clip above, many hiked the mountain Monday and rode deep, smooth powder, after a storm dumped a foot of snow on the upper slopes.

Wyoming’s first ski area originally planned to open Dec. 8, but warm weather hampered snowmaking and rendered the mountain Rain King.

With a little help from Mother Nature, snowmakers have been catching up. Today the Cougar chair operated for a race, and the resort finally groomed the frozen chunks of death cookies on the lower slopes into a carpet of corduroy.

A two-hour lift ticket is $20. The warming hut by the Alpine Slide is serving as season pass office while Snow King Center is undergoing renovation.

(Video courtesy David Gonzales of TreeFight)

Posted under Economy, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: powder, skiing, snow king, snowboarding

After a big week of snow, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will open its upper mountain earlier than expected. The Bridger Gondola and Marmot chair will open tomorrow, followed by the aerial tram and Thunder and Sublette chairs Saturday.

The resort has received 33 inches of snow in Rendezvous Bowl since Dec. 1. Also, ski patrol has completed preparatory work on the upper mountain faster than anticipated, spokeswoman Anna Cole said.

Today the resort opened the new Casper high-speed quad at mid-mountain. Aimed at intermediates, the $5 million lift replaces a 38-year-old triple chair.

Warm weather has made the snow dense, padding rocks. Colder temperatures and intermittent snow are expected for the next week.

(Photo by Julie Weinberger, via JHMR)

Posted under Economy, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: jhmr, powder, skiing, snowboarding

In what should be obvious to all but the most optimistic skiers, barring a huge dump, Snow King Ski Area is unlikely to open its lifts Saturday as planned.

“Not looking good at all,” mountain operations manager Adam Shankland wrote.

Persistent rain and warm weather in recent weeks have put snowmaking well behind schedule. The King generally relies on a man-made base even when conditions are good.

Much colder nighttime temperatures are expected this weekend, with the National Weather Service calling for a low Sunday of 3 degrees.

Meanwhile, snow continues to accumulate above 8,000 feet, prompting Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to consider opening more terrain. The snow depth at 9,600 feet is 44 inches, according to the Bridger-Teton avalanche forecast.

Update 12/6: JHMR will open the new Casper high-speed quad Thursday, followed by the gondola and Marmot on Friday and tram, Thunder and Sublette on Sunday. The resort moved up the gondola and summit openings by a day.

(Photo via All Jackson Hole)

Posted under Economy, Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: climate change, jhmr, skiing, snow king, snowboarding

The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center began issuing its online forecasts this week loaded with new graphics and features, in what forecaster Bob Comey calls a “soft opening” for the site.

Avalanche hazard and mountain weather forecasts are available for the Teton area twice daily, at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Forecasts for the Greys River and Togwotee Pass areas are posted each morning.

New this year is a section called “Avalanche Problems,” which explains the type of hazard backcountry users should look for. A graphic illustrates the aspects and elevations where the problem can be found, and other metrics show the size, likelihood and distribution, as well as whether the trend is growing worse.

The center received grants from the Forest Service and 1 Percent for the Tetons to upgrade the service, which received more than 1.3 million visits via web, email and phone (307-733-2664) last winter. Online page views were up 65 percent, while the number of phone calls dropped in half.

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Posted under Environment, Media, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather

Tags: avalanches, backcountry, jhmr, powder, skiing, snowboarding

Earlier this week the Denver Post reported about the growing popularity of uphill travel at ski resorts. Skinning has become such a part of mountain-town life that most Colorado resorts have adopted policies tolerating or even encouraging it.

Aspen Skiing Co., for instance, has climbing routes and policies for its four mountains. The Post reports:

Two years ago, uphill skiing was a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” with the few skinning skiers keeping a low profile as they climbed in the dark. Today, resort chieftains such as Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s Tim and Ethan Mueller and Breckenridge’s Pat Campbell are regulars among their hill’s climbing cadre.

And the no-policy uphill approach is becoming a thing of the past. Nearly every resort has recently tweaked its uphill travel rules to address things like dog poop, hours, parking, closures, reflective outerwear and lights.

Naturally, skiers might wonder whether Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will catch up with the trend, especially given the brouhaha following the arrest of Roland Fleck in 2011. The hard-headed Fleck, then 78, insisted on skinning up JHMR to watch his daughter compete in a ski race, only to be sledded down in cuffs.

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Posted under Economy, Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: jhmr, skiing, snow king, snowboarding