Alterra Mountain Company has entered into an agreement to purchase Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, bringing the company’s portfolio up to 15 resorts throughout North America.

A tranquil, yet pleasant weekend ahead for the U.S. to enjoy the open trails. Snow will come in bursts for western Canada, the U.S. Rockies and the east.

The flush of double-digit preseason snowfall in the Colorado Rockies and cold temps have propelled early openings all around – in particular, some of the largest resorts in the state.

Tyrol Basin, located in the Wisconsin hill country southwest of the State Capital, went through an ownership change last season when new owner Nathan McGee bought the ski area in 2018. One of the older ski areas in the Badger State it first opened in 1958. Tyrol was also one of the first ski areas in the state to enthusiastically welcome snowboarders and is still considered one of the top places to ride.

Mount Snow, Hunter Mountain, Wildcat Mountain, and Big Boulder today announced their scheduled opening dates for the 2019/2020 winter season. After a great start to snowmaking, including a very productive window this past weekend, Mount Snow, Wildcat, Hunter Mountain, and Big Boulder are all looking forward to welcoming old friends and new Epic Pass holders, when lifts start to spin.

For the third-straight year, Vail Resorts is having a major impact on the East Coast ski industry.

Steamboat Resort will open on the earliest date in its history. 

The owners of Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl and four day-trip resorts in the Southwest have purchased Brian Head Resort in southern Utah.

Boyne Highlands' classic three-story hotel with its vine-covered alpine motif and ski hill rising behind the roofline is arguably one of the most iconic views among Heartland ski resorts. Rising over 550 feet, the largest vertical in Lower Michigan. An upgrade, transforming the iconic lodge into an upscale, luxury hotel is taking place in four phases with the first phase beginning this winter. When complete 85 newly furnished rooms and suites should be ready for next season.

Eats

The resort’s Saturday night Aonach Mor Moonlight Dinner held during January and February is a must; a sleigh ride up to the North Peak Lodge, elegantly set and a gourmet dinner with strolling minstrels tops off the evening. The popular dinner is being held nightly Dec. 26-30 and Jan. 1 and 4.The hotel dining room is one of the best in the Harbor Springs area. Overlooking the lit slopes is your “eye candy” for the meal. Teddy Griffin’s Roadhouse, just down the road, is a popular offsite restaurant.

Stay

The best place to stay is the hotel; the high-speed lift is right outside the door to the slopes. Two more nearby options: The Bartley House, a longtime family favorite, is home to the largest hot tub in the Midwest; the Heather Highlands Inn, just a short stroll from the main lodge, also offers hotel rooms and condominium suites.

Trails

The ski hill offers 55 runs, some over a mile long, four terrain parks, numerous glades, and eight lifts, including a high-speed quad. This classic Midwest ridge, bent and folded by the last retreating glacier, offers a visual distinctiveness with varied slopes and contours that are rare for the Heartland. It’s one of few resorts around the Great Lakes where you really need a trail map. The secluded North Face runs feel like a separate ski area. The front face offers over a dozen black-star slopes, one double-black and plenty of long cruising runs in between. Beginners have their own area and chairlift plus a magi-carpet.

Deals

Midweek three-night packages start from $98 per person, per night and include lift tickets and a hot buffet breakfast each morning. They are available all season long excluding holidays.

For Fun

When I first started visiting the resort years ago skiing was about the only reason you went. Today there are many other activities to enjoy. You can try the multiple-stage zipline tour, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, fat tire biking, horseback riding, and tubing in addition to skiing and riding.

Patience will pay off in the East when multiple shots of cold and snow bring a much-awaited weather pattern for area ski resorts.

With the winter-like cold air that's settled in over the Great Lakes, three more Midwest ski areas plan to open later this week with a couple more scheduled to open the following weekend.

One California resort is already spinning chairs with more to follow in November, as the ski and snowboard season gets underway in The Golden State.

Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America, and part of POWDR, will kick off the 2019-20 winter season at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 3, 2019, becoming the first Eastern resort to open for skiing and snowboarding. 

Vermont is gearing up for the next big influx of tourists: ski season. For resorts around the state, that means adding hundreds of seasonal employees, but Vermont's aging population and low unemployment rate are adding to the challenge. That's led some resorts to offer generous benefits — retirement plans, health insurance, ski passes, housing — for entry-level positions like lift operators and parking attendants.

We're saying goodbye to October’s tricks, and flipping the calendar to treats in November. The east will get a cool down, while the west benefits from an early start to the season.

A combination of persistent cold temps and better-than-expected early snowfall has prompted Eldora Mountain and Monarch Mountain to crank up the lifts several weeks before their announced opening date.

Minnesota’s Wild Mountain, located in a river valley east of the Twin Cities, opened for the winter season today, Tuesday, October 29.

As resorts in the West begin to open, the preseason ski show shifts into high gear to stoke the skiing and snowboarding public about the upcoming year.

For the second season at Park City Mountain, options for expert skiers and riders heading up into Jupiter Bowl to catch some steep-and-deep will be fewer.

Because of a huge snowmaking project begun this summer, Vail Mountain managers are more confident than ever that the Nov. 15 opening day will have the best skiing and riding conditions ever on Colorado's largest mountain.