Three area ski centers opening Friday
What a difference a week makes.
When ski center operators in the region looked at thermometer readings in the mid-60s last week, it seemed any hope of a Thanksgiving weekend opening had as much of a chance as a snowball in you know where.
But suddenly, Mother Nature pulled an aboutface and dumped piles of snow across the mountains.
As a result, three of the four ski centers in the region say they’ll be open for business before the end of this week.
The Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, in the Ulster County town of Shandaken, will open Friday morning, according to General Manager Tom Tar.
“We will be opening November 25, 2016, at 10 a.m.,” Belleayre posted on its Facebook page. “... Beginner, intermediate and expert terrain will be available.”
Hunter Mountain, in Greene County, also will open Friday.
“We plan to open for the 2016-17 season this Friday!” an announcement on Hunter’s website said Tuesday. “In the past 48 hours, the mountain has accumulated 12+ inches of natural snow, and on top of that, our snowmaking team has been making snow nonstop since early Sunday morning . ... The plan is to continue making snow through tomorrow as temperatures permit.”
Windham Mountain, also in Greene County, likewise will open Friday.
“We couldn’t ask for a better start!” Windham said on its website. “More than 10 inches of has fallen since Saturday.”
Windham said its snow guns are hard at work, too.
Ski Plattekill, in the Delaware County town of Roxbury, got a foot of new snow in recent days but has not yet begun making snow. Plattekill said on its website that it plans to start making snow “right after Thanksgiving” and open for skiing on Dec. 10.