It's only happened twice in 12 years, but that number is about to go up to three.
Sun Valley Resort announced Monday that its 72nd winter season will open Saturday, Nov. 24, two days later than the planned Thanksgiving Day opener.
On top of that, the resort will open with limited terrain, with Lower River Run on Bald Mountain and Quarter Dollar on Dollar Mountain.
"There are only a few ski resorts open. It's been warm, and snowmaking's been a challenge," said Sun Valley Resort Marketing Assistant Kate Randall. "The rain last weekend certainly didn't help. We're hoping the weather will change. It's supposed to continue getting cooler.
"When the weather changes, we'll certainly do more as quickly as we can, but for now we'll just have to wait to see what happens."
Even so, resort managers are excited to unveil new snowmaking facilities and chairlifts on Dollar Mountain. Skiing on Dollar on Saturday will be serviced by a newly installed high-speed detachable quad chairlift. The mountain's other new detachable quad will begin whisking skiers to the summit of the mountain as soon as snow conditions allow.
Because of the lack of optimal skiing conditions, Sun Valley will allow those with 20/20 passes to ski without being docked any of their 40 days through Friday, Nov. 30.
And in addition to limited ski offerings this weekend, the resort will make available the Sun Valley Gun Club, ice rink and tennis for its guests.
As Randall pointed out, resorts across the West are facing similar straits. Grand Targhee, Wyo., Vail, Colo., Steamboat Springs, Colo., and Taos Ski Valley, N.M., have all postponed start dates.
Conspiring against them all are weather systems that have kept storms away and hampered snowmaking and the fact that Thanksgiving falls earlier in the month than usual.
"It's always nice to get open for Thanksgiving, but the fact of the matter is sometimes we do, sometimes we don't," said Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association trade group. "If we can be up and operating in a substantial fashion by the middle of December, it bodes well for the industry."
The nation's $6 billion ski industry is hoping for a banner season after posting a 7 percent drop in visitors last year when a fickle winter favored the Rockies but left other parts of the country wanting.
As of Nov. 17, the Northeast had seen early snow and good snowmaking weather, Berry said. There had been a lot of precipitation in the Northwest, though snow amounts vary from resort to resort.
In Utah, storms blanketed the mountains with snow last month, prompting some resorts to predict early openings, but recent warm weather has them delaying opening dates from this week to next week, said Ski Utah spokeswoman Jessica Kunzer.
Seven of Colorado's 26 resorts were open Friday with limited runs, including Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park and Wolf Creek. At least three have postponed opening dates from Friday to next week or later.
In the final forecast update to the U.S. winter outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center's forecasters remained confident in predicting above-average temperatures for much of the country and below-normal precipitation for the southern tier of the nation.
"La Nina strengthened during October, making it even more likely that the United States will see below-average precipitation in the already drought-stricken regions of the Southwest and the Southeast this winter," said Michael Halpert, the center's deputy director. "Recent sea surface temperatures indicate we have moderate La Nina conditions in place over the equatorial Pacific, which we expect to continue into early 2008."
Though above average precipitation is anticipated for the Pacific Northwest, Sun Valley's place in such predictions is tricky. Sun Valley is on the cusp between the central Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest, and meteorological phenomena like La Nina and El Neno can go either way here.
At Sun Valley Resort, facilities are gradually opening despite the uncertain weather. River Run Day Lodge is open, and food service will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge will open Thanksgiving Day. The Ski Shop will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and food will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 8 .m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Brass Ranch and Pete Lane's Mountain Sports at River Run are also open. Pete Lane's Mountain Sports at Warm Springs will open Saturday, Nov. 24, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All shops in the Sun Valley Resort Village will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Other Thanksgiving recreation opportunities Thursday through Saturday will include The Sun Valley Gun Club from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the ice rink from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., tennis from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., bowling alley from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., both pools (guests only) and spa.
The Opera House will open at noon on Thursday.
Ski conditions and terrain are subject to change. Call the Sun Valley Snow Report at (800) 635-4150 or visit www.sunvalley.com for updated information.
"We've got the world's largest automated snowmaking system, but it still needs weather," said Sun Valley Resort Marketing and Public Relations Director Jack Sibbach last week. "We haven't had the temperatures we need to make snow. We still need temperatures to come around and help us."
With a little help from Mother Nature, that could soon change.
Snow guns on Bald and Dollar mountains fire full-bore Tuesday as Sun Valley Resort prepared for its 72nd ski season, which will begin later than anticipated this year. The opening date was bumped from Thanksgiving Day to Saturday, Nov. 24, because of persistently warm weather and a lack of snow. Photo by Willy Cook
