PSIA-AASI

11.21.2011

SnowPro Update: More Areas Open Early, Dorworth Heads to HOF

As if it wasn’t enough that Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado was already open for powder skiing and riding on Oct. 8, with Loveland and Arapahoe Basin quick to follow suit, even more ski areas across the country are firing up the chairs up to one week early.

From California to Colorado, and New Mexico to Utah, more than a dozen additional ski areas announced plans to start the 2011-12 season the weekend of November 19-20. In Colorado, Vail opened the season Friday with frontside skiing and $1 burritos, while Snowmass (site of the PSIA-AASI 50/50 Celebration in April) will open Saturday with more than 160 acres of riding.
 
“Since making this announcement a week ago, the excitement meter has been redlining around the valley,” Vice President of Mountain Operations Rich Burkley said in a statement. “People are fired up to get on the hill and the phones have been ringing off the hook.”
 
Snowbird, Solitude, Alta, and Brighton are open in Utah, and Park City joined the party November 20. In Washington, Crystal Mountain (which closed on July 16) and Mt. Baker announced Friday openings, while Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie, and Mission Ridge opened Saturday. Oregon’s Mount Hood and Timberline were reporting up to a foot of fresh powder from a new storm, and just to the north, British Columbia’s Whistler-Blackcomb also announced plans to open Friday, six days ahead of schedule.

California’s Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar opened Friday, while Mammoth Mountain, already open for a week now, was reporting heavy winds and an 80 percent chance of new snow. Montana’s Lookout Pass also opened Friday, while in New Mexico, Sipapu Ski Resort also got the lifts turning, marking the 10th straight season Sipapu has been the first in the Land of Enchantment to start spinning the bullwheel.

Dick Dorworth to Join U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

PSIA-AASI would also like to extend a well-earned “congratulations” to Dick Dorworth, who recently received the news that he will be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2011. Dorworth, who worked as an instructor and coach in North America, South America, and France during his career, was also the former director of the Aspen Mountain Ski School, and a regular contributor to the 32 Degrees magazine predecessor, The Professional Skier. As a journalist, he remains a regular contributor to several publications, as well as an avid skier and climber. In 1963, Dorworth set the then world record for speed skiing in Portillo, Chile, reaching a speed of 106 mph.

—Peter Kray