SnoNews

Always powder in the early days. (International Ski History Association)

National Ski Areas Association recently published a list of when ski areas opened. Nonetheless, the debate over which hill gets to claim the title continues.

It's a festive Christmas at Grand Targhee. (Grand Targhee)

If celebrating a white Christmas is on your wish list this year, planning to spend the day with loved ones on the slopes is just what Santa ordered. Finish the day with a festive meal where everyone can relax and enjoy each other’s company and you’ve got a family tradition in the making. Follow up an uncrowded day skiing and riding with a feast at one of these mountain resorts.

Fly through the sky at Seven Springs for Labor Day fun (Seven Springs/Facebook)

The end of the summer is unofficially marked by the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2-5), and then the long, long wait for ski and snowboard season to begin.

So before the waiting begins, get a whiff of the high-mountain air and winds in the pines by checking out the holiday festivities at resorts all around the country.

Whether you are a full-fledged foodie or an emerging gourmand, you are sure to find more than one event to whet your appetite at the Steamboat Wine Festival. (Steamboat Wine Festival)

Sampling wines and local food are just the beginning of the activities you’ll discover at wine festivals at mountain resorts across the country this summer. Find extraordinary wining and dining in gorgeous mountain settings.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn joined Seven Springs Mountain Resort Chairman Robert Nutting and Bureau of State Parks officials in a celebratory groundbreaking marking progress on major renovations underway at Laurel Mountain Ski Resort. 

Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley Resort have made a variety of improvements for the upcoming season, including snowmaking upgrades, mountain improvements, and the Mountain Adventure Camp for kids.

Landon Fake, general manager of the Camden Snow Bowl in Maine, told SnoCountry.com that skier terrain will increase from 45 to 60 acres, and a new triple chair will increase uphill capacity 20 percent. 

“Happy April,” exclaimed Gore Mountain’s Emily Stanton to SnoCountry.com. “We are open daily through Sunday (April 6). We’re asking people to visit our website or check ahead regarding the schedule for next week. We’ll have events throughout April.”

To be a Burton U.S. Open Champion in snowboarding you must first qualify. Seven Springs in Pa., with its Olympic-sized half pipe, will stage the Burton U.S. Open Qualifier Jan. 31-Feb. 2 for the second year.

No worries. Indulge. Then, work it off, as nearly 200 of the nation’s ski resorts – coast to coast – will be open for skiing and riding Thanksgiving Weekend.