IDAHO — If you were hoping to hit the slopes this Thanksgiving, Mother Nature had other plans. Warm fall weather has left most of Idaho’s ski resorts with little to no snow. But cooler temperatures this week have most resorts firing up their snowmaking machines in hopes of opening soon.
Related: As December nears, winter weather moves in
“We are always hoping to open sometime around Thanksgiving,” said Ken Rider with Brundage Resort.
That goal likely won’t be met this year at any of the ski resorts in Idaho due to the unusually warm fall.
See how local resorts are working to make as much snow as they can
“The temperature certainly dropped last night, which was a very welcome reprieve in the weather. So we were able to kick off snowmaking last night at about midnight,” Rider said.
The Brundage team plans to run its snow guns as long as the conditions allow to get a head start on building a snow base, and other resorts had the same idea.
“We’ve got a team working 24/7 to keep the snow makers running and making as much snow as we possibly can,” said Graham Hetland with Tamarack Resort.
Tamarack has about 35 snow guns operating around the clock, trying to make up for the snow lost earlier this month.
“We got up to I think about almost 6 or 7 inches at one point in the middle of October, but obviously it didn’t last with that warm weather that we had coming in here in November,” Hetland said.
Bogus Basin is also working to make snow and has even deployed some new technology to save some snow from last season.
Sun Valley postponed its opening day because of the slow start to winter.
“Now, everybody’s just kind of on standby waiting for the weather to change and us to make that announcement that we’re going to be opening,” Rider said.
In the meantime, many mountain-goers are trying to coax Mother Nature into bringing the powder to Idaho through long-running traditions.
“I’ve got a few in my household repertoire. We’ve been flushing ice cubes down the toilet. We’ve got spoons under the pillows, a white crayon in the freezer,” Hetland said.
Rider added, “I’ve got a pair of socks in the freezer and [I'm] doing a little dance every night. I haven’t burned any skis or snowboards yet, but I’m thinking about it.”
Resort officials say they’ll announce updated opening schedules as conditions change.
