Hannah Robinson
Hwood3@uwyo.edu
Two days of snowfall and a cold month prior to Nov. 27 made for the best opening weekend for Snowy Range Ski Area in the past six years, the mountain’s proprietor said.
The ski conditions of Snowy Range are better than they have been in recent memory providing more open areas compared to past years, Snowy Range Ski Area owner and General Manager Aaron Maddox said.
“A bunch of snow in November provided excellent coverage,” Maddox said. “And we have a bit more open than usual.”
City of Laramie Senior Planner Charles Bloom visited the ski area with his family over the weekend. He described the conditions as “Wicked awesome.”
“This year’s opening day was much better than the last few years,” Bloom said. “There was so much fresh snow and it had snowed the night before.”
Two chair lifts, the magic carpet ride and nine runs are open at the ski area and more will be open by next weekend, Maddox added.
He said the predictions of weak snowfall do not have him worried.
“We’re not a powder destination,” Maddox said. “We make a lot of our own snow and we are optimistic that it will be a good season.”
UW graduate and former Branding Iron employee, Zoe McDonald now attends grad school at the University of Vermont and came back to Laramie for Thanksgiving break. She and her family were able to hit the slopes while she was home. She said the early season skiing conditions were the best she has ever seen.
“I was really impressed. There was great coverage,” McDonald said. “There was nearly an inch and a half of fresh powder on some runs.”
Bloom said the conditions were wonderful with great grooming.
McDonald said she had been to Steamboat over Christmas and it is not nearly as good as Snowy Range was over the weekend.
There were skiers and snowboarders of all levels on the limited runs during the weekend and everyone enjoyed themselves, McDonald added.
Although it was the first weekend, inexperience and unconditioned skiers and snowboarders were not a problem. Maddox said the worst instance of the weekend was a wrist injury.
There were no concerns with how the weekend went at Snow Range, Bloom said, adding he expects a season full of good snow.
Maddox said the resort is getting a head start on the season with such excellent conditions.
“We are moving the snow guns into the terrain park, and that’s earlier than ever before,” Maddox said. “The terrain park is usually ready over Christmas but it may be ready by mid-December this season.”
McDonald said Snowy Range Ski area stands out in its own way compared to other resorts. It can be a negative that Snowy Range is so small and there is a standing joke that you can get up and down the mountain in seven minutes, McDonald added. However, the resort provides a small town feel and has a great lodge that may be bigger than Steamboat’s.
Maddox said he expects the season to follow the trend of being a little busier than the past. It should be a good snow season lasting until mid-April.
“We always have snow till then,” Maddox said. “We usually run out of customers before we run out of snow.”
