SnoNews

Here comes a nice taste of cold weather for many of us!  Some resorts sit in just the right spot for heavy snow accumulations. 

Snowy and still cold through April 20-21? Absolutely! This colder-than-average weather pattern for much of the East will stay through the weekend (21-22) with a gradual warm-up for the final week of April (24-27). That said, with cold air in place we’ll have a better chance at keeping and getting more snow. 

Add Revelstoke and Banff Sunshine Village to your bucket list next winter. (Sunshine/Alterra Mountain Co.)

The newest player in the multi-resort pass game has announced pricing for 2018-2019 and has added SkiBig3 in Alberta, Canada, Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada and Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, as its newest partners, for a total of over 63,000 skiable acres of unique terrain at 26 mountain destinations in North America.

Whiteface Mountain on Thanksgiving week. (Twitter/Whiteface)

A changing weather pattern across the West will alter storm tracks across Canada, while several cold shots hit the East.

(Yes, this is really the end of April at Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta, Canada with nearly 145cm this month. Similar scenes will overtake the Rockies as yet another snowstorm finishes the month of April. (Lake Louise Ski Resort/Twitter)

Believe it or not, we’ll be turning the calendar into May with a bonafide snow storm for part of the Rockies and upper Midwest.

Brighton enjoys the buttery corduroy of their last few days of the season. Brighton expects to close for the season on Sunday, April 23 after an impressive season total of over 600" of snowfall. (Brighton/Facebook)

And we press on. The ski season is definitely winding down, but that won’t stop you die-hards from seeking out the last turns. If you plan to shred what’s left at the slopes, here’s what to expect weather-wise in this week’s SnoCast.

Snowbasin joins The Mountain Collective. (Snowbasin Facebook)

Sugarbush, Vermont and Snowbasin, Utah have joined The Mountain Collective for the 2017-18 season, bringing the pass alliance count to 16 resorts worldwide, with more than 51,306 acres of terrain, 2,517 trails and 458 lifts.

A limited number of Mountain Collective passes are on sale for $399.

Also new for the 2017-18 season, Alta and Snowbird in the Salt Lake City area, and Banff Sunshine and Lake Louise in the Banff National Park area will be considered as separate and distinct destinations, providing passholders with two days at each and unlimited 50 percent off days with no blackouts.

The dividing of the destinations along with the addition of Snowbasin and Sugarbush brings the total ski days available from full partners to 32 days at 16  destinations.

In addition, spring pass purchasers receive one bonus day at the destination of their choice and two additional days at Global Affiliate Resorts - Valle Nevado, Chile, Hakuba Valley, Japan and Chamonix Mont Blanc, France.

For a limited time, pricing for the kids pass (12 and under) is just $1 for the 2017-2018 season when purchased this spring with an Adult Pass, offering an incredible deal for families.

Sugarbush and Snowbasin join Alta, Aspen Snowmass, Banff Sunshine, Coronet Peak – The Remarkables, Jackson Hole, Lake Louise, Mammoth, Revelstoke, Snowbird, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Sun Valley, Taos, Telluride and Thredbo.

“We are delighted to join the Mountain Collective, and feel that it is a great fit for Sugarbush,” says Win Smith, President and majority owner of Sugarbush. “The Collective brings together the best independently-owned ski resorts across the country—and some abroad—and offers a terrific pass product, as well as benefits for each mountain’s passholders and staff. We are honored to be in the company of these well-respected mountains and are excited to offer these additional benefits to our Sugarbush community. I have personally skied at many of the Mountain Collective resorts and consider them among my favorites.”

“Snowbasin Resort is honored to join the Mountain Collective family,” says John Loomis, Snowbasin resort general manager. “The Mountain Collective offers skiers and riders the opportunity to enjoy the finest mountain resorts in the world. Snowbasin Resort, home to the speed events in the 2002 Winter Games, is proud to add to the opportunities for passholders.”

It’s about time! That’s what skiers and riders throughout the Midwest and Northeast have to say about winter, now that is has finally arrived.

Lindsey Vonn triumphed at Lake Louise by bagging a hat-trick. After winning both legs of a downhill doubleheader, she totally dominated the first super-G race of the World Cup season Sunday. The seemingly unstoppable American didn't let anyone come close. 

Light snow fell on the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey course for the Audi FIS World Cup super G and that was just fine for Austrian Marcel Hirscher and a whole bunch of Americans. Way north at Lake Louise, what else is new? Lindsey Vonn on her 17th World Cup with her second straight downhill blast at the Alberta resort.

It was the men’s turn for a U.S. set of Audi FIS World Cup races at Beaver Creek on the demanding Birds of Prey course. The big crowd watched Norwegians Aksel Lund Svindal hold off teammate Kjetil Jansrun for his third straight downhill win.

Momentum from the successful 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships will keep rolling into this year’s bigger, better, Audi Birds of Prey World Cup ski races at Beaver Creek, Colo.

The fastest female ski racers in the world take to Aspen Mountain Friday through Sunday, Nov. 27-29 for the Audi FIS World Cups at the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational. Star of the show? Certainly could be -- perhaps should be -- Colorado’s Mikaela Shiffrin in either the Giant Slalom or the two slaloms. Or all three. No pressure there.

Canada’s Banff National Park is home to Mt. Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village. Their collective 2015-16 seasons feature a number of changes. Here are some:

Update Sunday, Dec. 7: Lindsey Vonn finished second in a World Cup super-G in Lake Louise, Alberta, Sunday, completing her first weekend of races this year with two podium results. Vonn was .37 of a second slower than Swiss winner Lara Gut, one day after Vonn won her first race in nearly two years in a downhill. Slovenia’s Tina Maze finished third, increasing her World Cup overall lead. American Julia Mancuso was sixth. Vonn will race next Dec. at Val d’Isere, France.

U.S. Ski Team men and women speed racers got their respective North American World Cup weekends off to strong starts Friday (Dec. 5). 

Here are the Top 10 favorite romantic cross country ski resorts across North America as chosen by XCSkiResorts.com. 

It was a day at Beaver Creek, Colo. that may well have set the stage for Olympic drama in February. American champion Ted Ligety won his fourth straight Audi FIS World Cup Giant Slalom pushed by the USA’s Bode Miller coming back from a year off recovering from injury.

The Lindsey Vonn recovery watch continues and it looks better every day for the American champion as she rebounds from injury and pushes toward Sochi. Vonn finished 11th in the second weekend downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta, leaping 29 spots from Friday’s 40th place result on her more cautious first race day back.

America’s Lindsey Vonn finally began what she hopes will be a two-month return to glory in February in the Sochi Winter Olympics. Vonn finished 40th at Lake Louise, Canada on a course she has dominated. But, all that mattered this time was she’s back.