Friday, Nov. 17 Is Opening Day For North America’s Most Iconic Ski Resorts

North America’s most iconic resorts from east to west coasts will open for the 2017-2018 ski season Friday, Nov. 17. Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb, North America’s largest resort, will open for the season with three feet of base snow, while Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Resort will open summit-to-base skiing on the resort’s world-renowned Mt. Mansfield. The Lake Tahoe Region’s Heavenly Mountain Resort will also open Friday, Nov. 17.

• The 2017-2018 Ski Season Begins for Whistler Blackcomb in Canada; Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, Heavenly Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe
• Last chance to purchase a 2017-2018 Epic Pass is Sunday, Nov. 19

This Friday’s opening day lineup follows the opening of Colorado’s Breckenridge and Keystone Resorts, which began their ski seasons Friday, Nov. 10. The two resorts have announced additional ski terrain will be available to guests for the coming weekend.

Vail Resorts’ additional mountain resorts will open by Thanksgiving. Colorado’s Beaver Creek Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe region are slated to open Wednesday, Nov. 22, followed by Colorado’s Vail Mountain, Utah’s Park City Mountain and Lake Tahoe’s Northstar California Resort’s on Thursday, Nov. 23.

Heavenly Mountain Resort will open for the 2017-2018 season on Friday, Nov. 17, and it’s not too late for skiers and snowboarders to get their Epic Pass, which are still available until Nov. 19. Epic passholders have access to Heavenly Mountain, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Keystone Resort and Whistler Blackcomb for early season skiing and riding.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort will open on Nov. 22, followed by Northstar California Resort on Thanksgiving Day. The Village at Northstar, featuring high-end winter boutiques and new shops like lululemon, continues to open Friday, Nov. 17. Restaurants, including the new Yamakai Fish and Sushi Co. and Los Arcos Mexican cuisine, are set to open Friday as well.

“We’re thrilled to begin the ski season at Heavenly this Friday,” said Mike Goar, senior vice president of mountain division and chief operating officer of Heavenly Mountain Resort.  We’ve been hard at work making snow at every opportunity, and current forecasts are calling for snow. We’re excited to begin another terrific ski season.”

Whistler Blackcomb will be opening six days ahead of schedule on Friday, November 17. A streak of cold temperatures allowed for prime snowmaking conditions and with a favourable weather forecast calling for 50 centimetres of snow in the next three days, the decision to open Whistler Mountain was made.

“We couldn’t be more excited about opening Whistler Mountain early again this season.  Our snowmaking and operations teams have been working extremely hard to get the mountain ready for guests,” says Pete Sonntag, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Whistler Blackcomb. “Their efforts, along with the natural snowfall we are expecting throughout the week made our decision to open early easy.”

When Whistler Mountain opens on November 17, it will have five lifts in operation, including the Whistler Village Gondola, the Creekside Gondola, Emerald Express, Big Red Express and Franz’s Chair.  Skiers and Riders will be able to access 20 runs or 600 acres of terrain with a base of one metre at our weather station at Pig Alley. Blackcomb Mountain will open, as scheduled, on Thursday, November 23, 2017.

“With all the excitement of opening day, we want to remind guests early season conditions will apply, especially off piste,” says Doug MacFarlane, Senior Director of Mountain Operations. “It is important to obey all mountain signage, ski and ride on open runs only and stay within the operational area marked by boundary signage.”

“We’re thrilled to open our iconic mountain resorts in North America this week and into the Thanksgiving holiday for all of our guests,” said Pat Campbell, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division. “Winter storms are forecast for each of our resort’s regions within the next week, which offer great natural snow combined with our state-of-the-art snowmaking capabilities.”

• The 2017-2018 Ski Season Begins for Whistler Blackcomb in Canada; Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, Heavenly Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe
• Last chance to purchase a 2017-2018 Epic Pass is Sunday, Nov. 19

 
BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Nov. 14, 2017 – North America’s most iconic resorts from east to west coasts will open for the 2017-2018 ski season Friday, Nov. 17. Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb, North America’s largest resort, will open for the season with three feet of base snow, while Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Resort will open summit-to-base skiing on the resort’s world-renowned Mt. Mansfield. The Lake Tahoe Region’s Heavenly Mountain Resort will also open Friday, Nov. 17.
 
This Friday’s opening day lineup follows the opening of Colorado’s Breckenridge and Keystone Resorts, which began their ski seasons Friday, Nov. 10. The two resorts have announced additional ski terrain will be available to guests for the coming weekend.
 
Vail Resorts’ additional mountain resorts will open by Thanksgiving. Colorado’s Beaver Creek Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe region are slated to open Wednesday, Nov. 22, followed by Colorado’s Vail Mountain, Utah’s Park City Mountain and Lake Tahoe’s Northstar California Resort’s on Thursday, Nov. 23.
 
“We’re thrilled to open our iconic mountain resorts in North America this week and into the Thanksgiving holiday for all of our guests,” said Pat Campbell, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division. “Winter storms are forecast for each of our resort’s regions within the next week, which offer great natural snow combined with our state-of-the-art snowmaking capabilities.”