It may not look like it, but winter is here, and ski resort leaders say they are ready for what comes.
Ski resorts are noting the weather as the winter season begins.
Some ski resorts, like Tussey Mountain, in Centre county, haven’t opened yet, while managers at Seven Springs, in Somerset County, say they started opening slopes at the time they normally would, despite the absence of natural snow. Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain shortly after.
“We’re doing everything we can to try to counteract that variable weather by staying ready to go, and ready to fire up our snow making capability at all three mountains, at every opportunity.
groomers “are ready to go at a moments notice.”
“That goes into the calculation, and those decisions are really key on where we’re making snow and when to move away from open terrain.”
Skiers at resorts say they’re looking forward to when temperatures dip below freezing.
“I am not comfortable at all, when it comes to rain, or when it’s downpouring, skiing down the slopes, because the visibility gets terrible. so, yeah. kind of disappointing, but there’s nothing you can really do about it. it’s mother nature.”
“When it gets slushy it’s hard. especially as a beginner. it’s hard to keep our own.”
Resort goers also say if it’s raining and not freezing yet, this restricts them from taking off layers to stay cool.
They say the earlier the slopes open, the more likely they are to go to that ski resort over others.
