Snowmaking Begins at Killington and Sunday River as Winter Hits the Northeast
No two winters are the same, but in North America, Colorado is the reliable hub of early-season skiing. That tradition panned out late last month when Keystone and Arapahoe Basin kicked skiing off with exciting back-to-back openings, followed by Winter Park.
But out East, the first signs of winter are starting to show, too. Snow guns are turning on, flakes are flying, and brave skiers are enjoying the snow they can find.
Sunday River, Maine, announced on Sunday, November 2, 2025, that after receiving its first natural snowfall of the season, snowmaking operations had begun. “Our team lives for this time of year,” said Brian Heon, general manager of Sunday River, in a press release. “Snowmaking isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are.”
The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copyshipped directly to your front door.
Photo: Courtesy Sunday River
The resort boasts a sprawling snowmaking system that includes over 2,000 snowguns, supplied by pumps that could fill Boston’s Fenway Park with water in under 17 hours.
While warmer weather has put a pause on Sunday River’s snowmaking run, the resort wrote on Instagram that fans shouldn’t worry because “we’re ready to go full send once we’ve got temps back.”
At Killington, in Vermont, the snow guns started firing last weekend, too. The resort shared the news in an Instagram post, noting that 175 guns were operating to start the push—a new early-season record for Killington.
Tap or click below to watch Killington’s snowmaking guns roar back to life.
Other resorts, like Jay Peak, Vermont, also showed off fresh snow, both manmade and natural. This afternoon, Sugarbush’s webcams showed snow at the mid-mountain Allyn’s Lodge.
In all likelihood, the official start to the East Coast season is weeks away, but that hasn’t stopped skiers from climbing into the mountains and making turns where they can.
Skier Mike Hayes scored his first run in late October with hardly any snow on the ground. On November 1, the coverage looked much better. Jay Peak delivered some more hardscrabble, early-season action, as documented in a video from Matt Scheeler.
Is more snow on the way? Chris Tomer, a meteorologist favored by skiers, thinks so. In his latest weather update, he spied a storm that could lead to snow accumulating at Jay Peak and other mountains out East later this month.
Leave a Reply