“Winter Is Coming” - House of Stark

In the Game of Thrones series, the motto of the House of Stark is “Winter Is Coming.” That is something we all long for at Team Summit.

Unfortunately, on top of all the craziness in our world right now this has become the year that winter is slow in arriving. It is hard to imagine that on November first there are not any ski areas in Summit County that are open for public skiing. I went back to 2009 and couldn’t find a season A-Basin didn’t open in October.

All of the ski areas in our county are struggling with two things. First is an exceptionally warm fall. Other than a few days early last week temperatures have not allowed around the clock snowmaking. The current forecast has daytime temperatures near or even above 60 degrees for Friday. Nighttime lows are only going to be in the mid-20’s until Sunday. This means that ski areas will only have a few hours of snowmaking temperatures each night this week.

In addition to the poor temperatures, ski areas, some more than others, are struggling with our drought. An exceptionally low water table means that when the temperatures are good, they can drain some of their water sources, and then they have to pause snowmaking while those fill back up.

What that means for us is that we will have limited opportunities to be on snow for a little while longer.

In the Game of Thrones analogy, “Winter is Coming” is a reminder to not let their guard down, and to be ready all the time. That is what we are going to be doing at Team Summit. As programs reach their start date if we aren’t able to be on snow, we will be able to continue preparing to be on snow. Exact plans will be shared by specific programs by the Directors and Head Coaches. We can continue dryland, use our tramps, go to the barn, and be active on the mountains with other activities.

All of these will help ensure that once we can get on snow, our bodies are prepared and ready for the demands is skiing and riding.

Despite the best effort through snowmaking to control Mother Nature, there are still things beyond our abilities. So we will do our best to makes sure we are ready when the weather allows us the freedom to ride.

“Winter Is Coming.”

I Love This Sport,

CB