Maryland’s Wisp Resort opens for the season on Thanksgiving day. The above shot shows the results of snowmaking on Wednesday. Photo provided by Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort.

On Thansgiving day, Maryland’s Wisp Resort plans to open for the season with skiing and boarding on Belly Flop, a 100-yard beginner’s area. The resort will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. Lift tickets, rentals, and lessons will go for $5 apiece. The limited open terrain might not satisfy intermediate and expert skiers, but will provide beginners and families with an opportunity to try out Wisp’s new ski carpet, adjacent to Belly Flop. Snowmaking will continue as temperatures permit, and Wisp plans to bring more terrain on-line within the next few days. To check operating hours, prices, and open terrain after Thanksgiving, visit Wisp’s web site at www.skiwisp.com.

North Carolina’s Sugar Mountain plans to re-open for the season on Saturday, November 29, after opening very briefly on November 15. (Note that, earlier this week, Sugar Mountain had set Friday as its re-opening date. On Friday morning, the resort pushed the opening back a day due to a delay in the arrival of colder temperatures.) The Yellow Lift will be in operation, with Upper and Lower Flying Mile open for skiing and boarding. For the latest conditions at Sugar Mountain, visit www.skisugar.com.

As of Wednesday night, DCSki has not received official word of other imminent resort openings, but we expect additional resorts may begin to open the first week of December. This weekend should bring a blast of cold temperatures suitable for snowmaking, but the extended forecast still shows temperatures flirting on the milder side. It generally takes a few days of solid sub-freezing temperatures for Mid-Atlantic resorts to open en masse. November provided that stretch of cold temperatures last year, but area skiers will have to wait until December this season.