NEW HARTFORD, Conn. — The snow guns have been running over the past few days, courtesy of a cold snap that could give Ski Sundown in New Hartford the chance to open well before they did in 2022, which was Christmas week.
“Cold is good,” said Bob Switzgable, the owner of Ski Sundown. “It’s November and that’s a good start and every year is different and we’re taking whatever Mother Nature gives us. We had a nice little shot of cold last night and possibly tonight so we’re taking advantage of that.”
Switzgable noted that his team has around 160 snow guns pointed on ten trails across the ski area.
“We should be opened by, I would think, mid-December," Switzgable said.
Beyond Connecticut’s borders, the ski season is well underway in Vermont.
Okemo opened two weeks ago having been challenged with flooding rains in early July that brought widespread damage to Ludlow, the ski town at the bottom of the mountain.
"Early July the floods left some bumps and bruises but it’s nothing we couldn’t fix.," Courtney DiFiore, the communications manager at Okemo said.
DeFiore was thrilled to report that Okemo has had a great start to the 2023 season.
“We started our season two weeks ago now and we’ve already got over a foot of natural snow and the temperatures have been cool enough that we have been able to keep our snowmaking systems going,” DiFiore said. “Yhe best part about the season is it’s trending up, it looks like it’s going to be a great season, we’re off to a good start with natural snow, Okemo is open and ready to host.”
Switzgable said he hopes the cold temps keep coming.
“The best part is seeing the customers come back, seeing happy skiers, it’s just fantastic," said Switzgable.
In Cornwall, Mohawk Mountain has also been able to make snow on a few of its trails. They reported that opening day is set for Saturday, December 2.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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