BURNSVILLE, Minnesota — For those in the business of snow, timing is everything.
"If we can get open Thanksgiving week, that's pretty ideal for us," said Nate Birr, chief operations officer of Buck Hill in Burnsville.
Birr said his team usually looks for consistent temperatures of 27 degrees Fahrenheit or below. "With the temps the way that they're looking, fingers crossed... we'll make snow all week long," Birr shared.
The plan is to start snowmaking on Monday afternoon with the goal of being open on Black Friday.
Buck Hill has 70-80 permanent snow guns and another 30 or so portable ones. Three years ago, they put a brand new pump in at the top of the hill.
"We used to have to kind of pick where we would make snow on the hill... But with the new pumps, the new water capacity, and the new guns, when we get ideal temps and we can maximize our water pressure and how much water we're pushing through the system, we could have every snow gun on the hill going at one time," Birr said. "In three days with temps in the teens and single digits... we can get 90% open. It might be light in a couple spots, but it's still rideable."
Ski areas are hoping for better weather than last year when much of Minnesota experienced the warmest winter on record.
"Last year we spent about a month-and-a-half turning the snow guns on, turning them off," Birr explained. "A lot of it wasn't making new snow, it was just repairing the base that was deteriorated because of weather, and rain, and warm temps."
A similar scenario is unfolding a bit east, across the Wisconsin border at Trollhaugen.
"We have been at the mercy of Mother Nature, as per usual," said Marsha Hovey, marketing director at Trollhaugen in Dresser, Wisconsin.
Hovey said they were able to get a jumpstart on snowmaking but a one to two degree change in temperatures over the weekend forced them to temporarily shut down.
"We're just kind of waiting for Mother Nature to tell us when we can make it," said Matt Boudreaux, assistant mountain manager at Trollhaugen.
The team planned to restart snowmaking operations on Sunday night. Hovey said they typically plan to open the first week of November.
"Even though we're a little slow to start this year, we're confident that winter will return in full force," Hovey said.
Trollhaugen is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
"We need people to do their snow dances. So get dancing," Hovey said.
Meanwhile, Birr was celebrating snowmaking, "It's my favorite day... and my kids' favorite day of the year... it's just a really happy day."
For the most up-to-date information on openings, both Buck Hill and Trollhaugen will be posting updates to their social media pages.