Friday January 11, 2019 was the snow sports industry’s first National Learn to Ski or Snowboard Day at resorts throughout the U.S. Many resorts offered special deals for newcomers to take beginner lessons from professional instructors as a way to celebrate the sports. 

It’s been an incredible January for so many ski areas across North America. January will be one to remember with snow-packed storms, keeping soft turn after soft turn.

Kids instinctually love to play in the snow, and you can share with them the thrill and camaraderie of a day on the slopes, the anticipation of new fallen snow that blankets the world white, the exhilaration of turns on skis. All across the country, you can find programs that offer a chance for kids to try out skiing and riding, most with just a small fee to get started.

More mobility around the base of Alta, an on-mountain learning center at Park City Mountain, and lodge renovations at Snowbasin highlight the first-to-open resorts in Utah.

A number of double-digit snowfalls coursed across Colorado in early November, giving four resorts in Colorado and one in Utah a chance to open early.

Taos Ski Valley is the latest ski and snowboard resort to join up with the Ikon Pass for the 2018-2019 season.

The days have lengthened, the sun is higher in the sky and the wildflowers are out, as Utah’s winter resorts put on their summer best and welcome the offseason.

One strong spring storm will pack a powder punch for much of the West for the second full weekend of April. Meanwhile in the East, an incredible temperature contrast will exist near the Canadian border.

Park 'n' power at Squaw Valley. (Squaw Valley)

Heading to the mountains in an electric car? More and more, ski and snowboard resorts around the U.S. have installed charging stations so that EVs can be ready for the trip home.

Snow has been below average for parts of the West but this week features a big change. (Brighton Resort/Facebook)

A much colder and snowier weather pattern returns to the West with feet of snow while the East warms up with more mixed precipitation.

All New Mexico resorts have discounted lessons. (Ski New Mexico/Facebook)

Ski and snowboard resorts all want more people on the slopes, and one way is to introduce newcomers to the sport.

The White Bear at Deer Valley. (Deer Valley) 

Whether you love powder or corduroy, groomers or trees, one of the best treats after a day on the snow is an après-ski cocktail. SnoCountry.com did some tough research and discovered some of our favorite signature resort cocktails.

A keystone holiday getaway is a good bet. (Keystone)

The B-rolls of early snowfall photos have started, and the usual suspects have already dropped their ropes on a new season. So the next question is: Where to ski and snowboard during the holiday season?

"Bury the Butte." (Crested Butte/Facebook)

Starting in the Sierra and moving across the Wasatch to the Colorado Rockies, a dozen Pacific-laden storms unleashed their largesse in January to set up skiers and snowboarders for the rest of the season.

Snowbird is one of four Wasatch resorts that fill their parking lots to the brim. (Snowbird/Facebook)

The bus system of the Utah Transit Authority will narrow its focus this winter in order to get more skiers and snowboarders on the slopes more efficiently.

That means more bus trips up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta and Snowbird, and more runs up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Solitude and Brighton. It also means no direct service for visitors staying in downtown hotels or local city dwellers.

That quartet of ski resorts has always been within easy reach of Salt Lake City and environs, but they have been hampered by heavy congested traffic and a lack of consistent bus service up the narrow canyon roads.

To that end, the UTA has decided to eliminate direct ski resort service from downtown hotels. Instead, it will increase service by 35 percent from three light rail stations in south Salt Lake City as the jumping-off point for buses into the mountains. Connections at Murray Central and Historic Sandy stations head up to Snowbird and Alta, while buses loading at Bingham Junction Station go to Solitude and Brighton.

UTA officials contend that connections from the light rail stations will entice more people to park there, as opposed to the smaller, more cramped lots at the canyons’ base.

During peak hours of 7 to 10 a.m., buses will run every 15 minutes from the parking lots at the base of the two canyons. In the afternoon between 3 and 6 p.m., they will run from the four resorts to the parking lots at the mouth of the canyons.

UTA also will ramp up weekend service during peak hours to diminish both vehicle traffic on access routes and crowded buses.

During off-peak hours, UTA has upped the frequency to every 30 minutes – again, an effort to spread out the number of riders on these busy routes.

A one-way adult fare is $4.50, or $2.25 for seniors. For a map and schedule, click here. 

All across ski nation, winter mountain resorts are devising ways to grow the sport by keeping kids and beginners coming back to the slopes. Utah is no exception.

On any given day at winter resorts in the West, dozens of people on skis, snowshoes or foot can be seen heading out of the base area to get in a run within resort boundaries without riding the lift.

From British Columbia to Arizona – and most everywhere in between – you can hear the yips and yelps as the 2015-2016 western skiing and snowboarding season begins with a bang.

The first dustings are on the highest peaks, and resorts across the West are in the midst of early season ticket discounts. In Utah, the mélange of choices for multi-day tickets -- local, regional and national -- is greater than ever.

The urge to hit the slopes comes early this time of year, so Brighton Resort’s pre-season terrain park in Utah might be just the antidote for those with a preseason jones for a kicker or a rail.