First ski day of the season

The official start of winter is still a few weeks away. And even before we reach December a few ski resorts are already open for the season. This time last year, the runs were still green. But this year, as Lisa Hepfner reports, the slopes are already in mid-winter shape.

“Stoked for the opening season, couldn’t wait to get out here.”

“I was just waiting for it to open. I was just looking every day.”

For some kids, the first ski day was more important than school.

Q: Have you had any great moments out there yet? A: “Yeah, I fell a bit. But I tried some tricks. I just started.”

Mount St. Louis-Moonstone owners were monitoring the weather three times a day, and were almost able to open Thursday says Robert Huter: “Right now we’re reporting a base of 20 to 40 centimetres on 10 slopes. This is probably our best start on the most amount of terrain for this time of year, as long as I can remember.”

Only about eight centimetres of that is natural snow. Sustained cold temperatures meant the snow making machines have been able to run 48 hours straight.

“You wouldn’t know that it’s man made snow. It’s been so cold and we’ve made nice fluffy snow so it’s great skiing out there.”

Paralympic skiier Jeff Penner agrees: “It’s a beautiful first day. Moonstone always has the best snow in the province. This is hero snow every day of the year. I just love it, from a racing background, you want the hard pack stuff where you can really carve stuff, and lay it all out on the line.”

It’s a lovely day. The resort is seeing a resurgence of skiers and says snowboarding has plateaued. They have to keep the slopes up with the trends.

Mount St. Louis is adding new things every day, like these fun jumps that I’ve never seen before.

Other ski resorts, like Blue Mountain, will open this weekend. Check www.skiontario.ca for updates.