BREAKING NEWS . . .MOUNTAIN SNOW HAS FALLEN . . .FIRST DUMPS OF THE SEASON HAVE BEEN RECORDED . . . BRING OUT THE PLANKS

So We’re Open

To much anticipation and fan fare the 2018/2019 season is open. In the West,  Loveland and A-Basin have chairs spinning seven days a week while Wolf Creek is open just for the weekends right now. In the East you have Killington, Sunday River, Mount Snow & Wildcat. With another dump, more terrain will open. Let the good times roll. Keystone and Breckenridge have decided to open a few days early. That’s always a good sign!  You can find the opening dates to your favorite resort and home mountains below.

Opening Dates

Adventure starts now – (just not everywhere, today):

OPEN

A-Basin, Killington, Loveland, Sunday River, Wolf Creek, Mt. Snow & Wildcat

November

2 – Mt. Norquay

8- Mammoth Mountain

9- Breckenridge (opening earlier), Keystone (opening earlier), Lake Louise, Sunshine

14-Winter Park

16-Cooper Mountain, Eldora, Heavenly, Northstar, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Snow Summit, Vail, Northstar

17-Sugarbush

19-Afton Alps

21-Beaver Creek, Kirkwood, Steamboat, Stratton, Snowshoe, Tremblant, Big Sky, Aspen Mountain

22- Snowmass, Boyne Mountain, Cypress Mountain, Taos Ski Valley

23- Bear Mountain, Boyne Highlands, Alta Ski Area

24-Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

27-Mt. Brighton

30-Snowbird, Brighton

December

1-Solitude Mountain Resort, Revelstoke, The summit at Snoqualmie

8-Deer Valley Resort, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk

13-Blue Mountain

21-June Mountain

TBA-Crystal Mountain Resort, Sugarloaf, Loon Mountain, Niseko United

This list in not all inclusive. I’m sorry if I left your mountain opening off the list. Not everything can make the list.

READER FEEDBACK, COMMENTS & PICS

READER FEEDBACK

We always appreciate any feedback we receive. Thank you very much for any and all correspondence. Received this from one loyal reader:

Great post. Hope you are doing well.

Thanks. I’m doing swell. Now that the lifts are spinning, well you know, we are all feeling better now.

And a first hand account from another reader…

Only 1 run open, but nice snow! 1st day of my 9 month season! Loveland midweek pass, $319…still some 4 packs available for 160$. Keep in touch…

Wow 9 months….rock star status. Work 3 months, ride for 9 and weren’t you the guy that told me you were an indentured servant? I like your style. Appreciate the additional pass options as well, but I’m all set. Thanks anyway.

It was cold and rainy but I dressed for it. 🏃‍♀️☔️ 🍁 🎃

Well done. As I always say…It’s not the weather, it’s just what you decided to wear. Anyway, still receiving this one liner and still it never gets old:

You are the best!

Thanks to whomever sent this. It was sent from an anonymous reader. Still thinking it’s my mom but apparently we have a few readers who think I am not the best. My mom stopped reading last season . . .

I stopped reading . . .it’s not my cup of tea.

What are you drinking these days?  I get it. It’s not for everyone.  Different strokes for different folks. Not everyone likes snow, like my mom. But most who read this do.  And to those that read the whole thing, the whole post from top to bottom, thank you!

COMMENTS

SNOW CONDITIONS

Resorts are open, well some are at least.  The beginning of the 2018/2019 winter season is underway.  The early season snow gods have been very generous. Conditions are really good. More and more terrain will be opening  daily.  Fresh powder and blue bird days will continue to draw my friends into the high country. Find that powder people! Get out there and enjoy it. THE THRILL OF THE MOUNTAIN AWAITS YOU.

SEASON PASSES

You can still purchase a season pass. Epic says they are ending sales Nov. 18th while Ikon says last chance is Dec 13th. Don’t wait much longer. It will just cost you an arm and a leg. I know you high rollers don’t care  about money but the rest of us value scalpers watch every penny. Both passes offer a tremendous value if you are gonna use it. These passes are hands down the best.  Both are the real deal. You can have amazing value with just one pass or combining any variation of the two passes can have you very well covered.

LODGING

If  you need help with lodging, especially last-minute, reach out to us at:

ThrilloftheMountain@gmail.com

We know people. And we may be able to help you.

Here’s a reservation link to Creekside @ Beaver Creek. Michael Simmons and his crew will take good care of you.

http://res.creeksidebeavercreek.com/irmnet/(S(lu5vzmfl3sou5ithkbygnkeb))/Res/ResMain.asp

RESORT GUIDING

Resort Guiding

We are offering all-inclusive resort guiding for you and your family at a discounted rate. Our guides can handle from 1 to 6 people. The day will be customized and tailored to your group and groups needs. A fun day is in store. If this is something you have an interest in? Please reach out, we’ll make it happen. Some feedback we received from recent tours:

Had an amazing time!!

and this one

It really was an amazing ski vacation!

Thank you. I had a blast. I look forward to it again next year. This always makes me feel good:

Great day on the mountain. Thank you for being so very patient.

as well as this gem:

Thanks for the pics. They are awesome. Thanks for capturing those precious moments.

Glad I could help in making special memories. Received this in my inbox:

We had the best time ever!! Thank you for navigating the mountain for us, for the snow shoe tour, for teaching us how to ski better and for being so wonderful and patient and welcoming to our entire crew!!

We love writing about the mountains and mountain activities, but even more, we love sharing it with everyone-with all of you. Want to find out what it’s all about? It’s not to late to book for this season. Dates are filling up. Need your whole trip planned from soup to nuts??? Is this you? We can help you to. Whether we just spend a day with you or we plan your whole trip, we are happy to do what we do. We have all of your winter adventures covered.  We promise you and your family will have a great time.

 

MERCH

 

We have t-shirts, long sleeve shirts and stickers for sale. If you or anyone you know wants a Trill of the Mountain shirt or sticker they can be ordered here:

Merch

A portion of all sales will go to charitable causes. Current charitable donations go to:

• Kahn Academy
• Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA / Guardian ad Litem GAL
• Chidamoyo Christian Hospital

PICS

Spooky for sure . . . but nothing like a tight double black tree run with some chutes in it. Now that’s scary.

Opening Day and Week Pics

Early bird gets the worm. Parking lots and primes spots fill up early.

Yup that’s what opening day lines look like.

Almost there. The line moves fairly quickly.

Come a few days after opening day and the whole mountain is yours.

More blue bird days on the horizon for sure.

Coverage not bad for opening day.

WHO’S READY???

Thanks again for reading this blog. I hope you all have a great start to your week. Until next time, love one another and be kind to each other. Get out there, The Thrill of the Mountain is waiting for you. Ski on.

CMM

If you would like to get Thrill of the Mountain, in email form, right in your inbox please subscribe at the bottom of this post. Check us out on Instagram – Thrill of the Mountain or like us on Facebook- Trill of the Mountain. Thanks. Want to be an author and can write about the mountains or mountain life? If so, contact us:

Thrillofthemoutain@gmail.com

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