Early snow and rankings shakeup signal busy North American ski season

As the North American ski season approaches, resorts are reporting early snow, new investments and shifts in reader rankings that together signal a busy winter ahead for both destination and local hills. Recent developments include an early October powder day in Colorado, an annual reader-based resort guide with notable movement among top properties, major expansions and sustainability commitments in Utah’s Park City area, a grassroots Michigan resort campaigning in a continental readers’ poll, and specialized multi-resort tours launching after the holidays.

A mid-October storm left deep snow at a high-elevation Colorado ski area, where guides took advantage of early accumulation to make turns weeks before most resorts open. The storm followed a series of cold fronts across the state, and guide operators said persistent cold in the San Juan Mountains often allows snow to build earlier there than in lower-basin ski counties.

The annual reader survey that ranks North American resorts produced a shakeup, with a major Mountain resort moving into the top 10 and a large Park City-area resort sliding toward the bottom of the top 30. Survey respondents cited guest service and grooming...