Loveland Pass in Georgetown, Colorado opened on October 13. Cold temperatures allowed the resort to make enough snow to get one lift running accessing three trails. Plenty of resort visitors are already hitting the slopes, with the majority being snowboarders. According to the marketing department, a storm is scheduled to roll in this weekend, hopefully bringing more snow and more trail openings.

Killington, Vermont’s Web site touts the resort has been the first to open on the East Coast for 38 consecutive years. Will this be true for the ’98/99 season? Possibly. According to Julia Carlisle, director of the Killington news bureau, the snow blowers started running on September 22. Temperatures have been a little too warm recently to blow snow, but if a predicted cold front hits the east soon, we could see Rime Trail with enough coverage to open next week.

At Sunday River in Maine, they’re not as optimistic. The resort recently wrapped up its mountain-bike operation and is gearing up for the winter. Snow has been blown at night, but the resort is not planning to open before October 23.

Colorado has had some colder temperatures and even some snow already, so unless Killington gets a little help, they might not be the first resort out of the gates. At Copper Mountain, Christine Sperber of Copper’s ski and snowboard school says they’re hoping to open next week.

Jim Felton, communication director for Vail Resorts, says Breckenridge and Keystone were blessed with some early snow. "It’s not unusual to get snow this time of year in Summit County," he says. "It’s just a matter of the temperatures staying low enough for it to stay." A recent storm lingered for a few days, dropping eight inches at 10,000 and above. And even after the storm rolled through, the temperatures stayed low. "This made for excellent snowmaking conditions," Felton adds. Breckenridge plans to open by October 30, with a Halloween party and costume contest on the 31. Keystone may open a few days earlier. And looking a little further into the future, Felton says one of Breckenridge’s goals is to be the first resort with a halfpipe open by Thanksgiving.

Although Steamboat Springs has received approximately a foot of snow already, they have not changed their scheduled opening day for November 21.

Boreal in California is hoping for its Halloween opening day as well. Temperatures are getting colder and, weather permitting, snow blowing should begin soon.

But if you’re ready to ride today, head to Timberline Resort–it’s been snowing off and on since last week up on the Palmer Snowfield. This resort holds the longest season record, closing down for a mere two weeks a year.

So dust off those snowboard boots and sharpen those edges ’cause it’s almost time to ride again.