Warm Weather and Rain Push Back Another Western Ski Resort Opening

Bad news, skiers—another western ski resort, Schweitzer, Idaho, has been forced to delay its opening date because of warm weather and rain. 

Originally, the ski resort planned to open on November 21. Now, it’s aiming for November 28.

Schweitzer’s COO, Tom Chasse, wrote in a blog post this week that while there’s been dustings of snow in October, the mountain’s seen “plenty of rain with overnight lows hovering in the 40s.” To rely on snowmaking—a valuable early-season tool—ski resorts need cold temperatures and relatively low humidity. 

Chasse, however, called the delay a short-term setback, pointing to the ongoing La Niña.

The climate pattern, which the Climate Prediction Center recently said would likely continue through mid or late winter, tends, historically, to deliver more powder than usual to Idaho. 

“If the jet stream shifts even slightly, we’ll be buried in feet of snow,” wrote Chasse.

In the meantime, Chasse wrote that Schweitzer is ready for the coming 2025-26 season with its lift inspections complete and snowmaking pond full.

Skiers who’ve bought tickets to Schweitzer between November 21 and November 27 can contact Schweitzer Reservations at (833) 854-7669.

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Schweitzer’s delay joins a few others across the West spurred by warm weather. Brian Head, Utah, first hoped to open on November 7, but has since pushed its opening day back to November 21. Solitude Mountain, another Utah ski resort, announced a delay, too. 

In California, Mammoth Mountain tweaked its opening date as a wet storm that could deliver large, altitude-dependent snow totals hits the state. It now plans to open on Saturday, November 15.

“This gives Mother Nature and our ops team the time they need to get the mountain dialed in for some amazing first turns,” Mammoth Mountain wrote in an update.

Colorado’s ski season is underway at mountains like Keystone and Arapahoe Basin, but Colorado Public Radio reported that the state’s facing one of the driest starts to winter in years.

Meanwhile, out East, a different story is unfolding. Jay Peak, Vermont, announced that after almost a foot of snow fell, it would open earlier than planned on November 22 and November 23. Killington, Vermont, and Sunday River, Maine, are already open.

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