Boreal Mountain Resort fired up its snowmaking system at 2 a.m., Sept. 30, 2009 marking the earliest snowmaking effort in the resort’s history.  Traditionally snowmaking season happens in October at Boreal, however the late September cold snap combined with Boreal’s upgraded snowmaking system makes this year’s snowmaking season opener a first.

Although it may seem “pre-emptive,” the reasoning behind the snowmaking efforts are two-fold: For the fifth season running, Boreal has produced the region’s only on-snow early season ski/snowboard event, 5th Annual Jibassic Public Invitational; also, the snowmaking system at the resort has been upgraded over the last three months and the change in weather is perfect for fine tuning the system and prepping for opening.

“Weather forecasting is critical this time of year and the short term forecast is calling for two nights of ideal snowmaking temperatures which will allow us to prep for our event, and early next week another cold front is forecasted to come through the Sierra which will open a second window of opportunity” said Shaydar Edelmann, Mountain Operations Director at Boreal.

Long-range forecasts show a breakdown of high pressure which is perfect for Boreal’s snowmaking season. “The earlier we can get the ground wet and freezing the better chance we have to open the resort early” said Jody Churich, General Manager at Boreal.  “Skiing and snowboarding is our business and marking an early opening is always our target this time of year.”

Boreal is located off Interstate 80 atop Donner Summit, 35 minutes from Reno, 90 minutes from Sacramento and only 8 miles from Truckee. Stay tuned for opening dates.

Boreal Snow Making 9/30/09 from Boreal Terrain Park on Vimeo.