Testing . . . Testing . . .

Two cold mornings in a row on October 9 and 10 let Sunday River fire off 80 snowguns for a  Top- to-Bottom quality-control shakedown. Does this mean we’ll be skiing and riding by Halloween?!?

The Saturday test took place on the top of Locke Mountain where 40 tower guns blasted out snow on what has been, in recent years, the first lift-serviced terrain in the northeast to open for skiing and riding. You can see what it was like last year here.

Not surprisingly, Sunday River is boasting about their snowmaking capacity. and their ability to open early. But, as the old saying goes, “If it’s true it ain’t bragging.” For the past three years, Sunday River has been the first resort on the East Coast to open, thanks to Boyne’s commitment to blow snow early and often.

So, will we be skiing and riding in October? Only Mother Nature can answer that question and she isn’t talking.  Right now, Sunday River says they are slated to open in “mid-November,” BUT they opened last year on October 14 and stayed open with top-to bottom skiing while other areas were struggling just to get open.

So stay tuned.

Oh, and speaking of “tuned,” get your edges tuned and your bindings checked. It won’t be long . . .