ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Early Monday morning, Holiday Valley Ski Resort in Ellicottville said ‘Let it Snow!’ on the slopes and kicked off this season’s snowmaking.
“Being able to fire up the [snowmaking] guns is always a welcome opportunity for us,” said Holiday Valley director of marketing Dash Hegeman. “We are a year-round resort, but a ski resort first and foremost.”
The Ellicottville ski resort officially started this year’s snow season by creating their own, because they’ve been stuck waiting on mother nature to bring winter to the mountains.
“It’s Western New York, so it’s bound to happen, it’s just a matter of when,” Hegeman said.
Last year, the resort opened on Black Friday, Nov. 25, and the season ran until April 3.
Hegemen shared that without some colder snow making temperatures, this season will have to start a little later.
“We don’t have a definitive plan in place now, in terms of what we’re going to be able to do this year, it depends on what the temperatures do the rest of this week.”
The resort has not announced an official opening date because of warmer weather, but as their man-made snow piles get bigger, they plan to announce the start of the season very soon.
“With them starting to make snow, you can always get the sense we are close to showtime,” said owner of the Boardroom Snowboard Shop Spencer Timkey.
Timkey’s store is just up the road from the resort, and he knows the snow brings in all his business.
“The welfare of everyone depends on a good season.”
After spending his whole life in the area, he knows snowflakes are coming.
“It’ll get here, it’s just a matter of when; it’ll just fashionably late this season,” Timkey said. “I’m not superstitious, but if anybody out there wants to do a snow dance and get this thing rolling for us down here, that would be good.”
Any updates about the resorts opening date will be posted on https://www.holidayvalley.com/.
