Heavy Rains Won't Put Damper On NH Ski Season Openings
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Heavy rains Thanksgiving eve have not put a damper on New Hampshire ski areas scheduled to be open this holiday weekend.
Ski-New Hampshire director Karl Stone says weather for much of November has been optimal for snowmaking and ski areas are meeting their scheduled opening dates.
He said one area — Pat's Peak in Henniker — will open earlier than planned, with weekend skiing beginning on Saturday.
Bretton Woods, Loon Mountain and Waterville Valley — which opened earlier this month — are scheduled to open Thanksgiving Day and throughout the weekend.
Cannon, Cranmore and Mount Sunapee are scheduled to open Friday.
Stone says there's no question a nice blizzard would have been preferable to the rain, but that snowmaking operations are way ahead of where they've been in recent years.
"Obviously we never want to see it rain during the ski season, but the water's just going to drain through, they'll groom it up and put fresh, man-made snow on top of it," Stone said. "At this point, overall, we're very happy. We're coming off a couple of years of relatively slow starts to the season.
Pat's Peak may get the prize for optimism. Its website noted that the rain "will just help refill our snowmaking ponds as they are looking rather low at the moment!"
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