Gunstock postpones opening after mid-week downpours

GILFORD — A cold snap before Thanksgiving had Gunstock Mountain Resort management feeling optimistic about their planned Dec. 9 opening day. Then came weeks of mid-40s temperatures and periods of heavy rain, including on Wednesday.

Citing “unseasonably warm temperatures and recent weather events,” Gunstock shared on Thursday that its opening, originally scheduled for Friday, would be postponed.

“Rest assured our snowmaking and grooming crews were out there pulling out all the stops,” read a statement posted to Gunstock’s social media accounts. “Sometimes Mother Nature does not cooperate.” 

General Manager Tom Day said the mountain opening is currently being evaluated on a “day-to-day basis.” 

“We might’ve sneaked by,” Day said, but the mountain opted to delay “rather than open with a product we weren't very proud of.”

In recent years, Gunstock has promised opening day customers a top-to-bottom run. It was the bottom of the trail, as it descends to lower elevation, that took the biggest hit.

“Three quarters of the way down, we have wall-to-wall snow coverage,” Day said. “But it’s a bit ledgy near the bottom and the running water there just ate snow from the bottom up.” 

“We’re 24 hours of snowmaking away” from rebuilding those areas and opening, Day said, “once we can make more snow.”

Preseason weather has been a challenge for snowmakers. Temperatures under 20 degrees are required to produce high volumes of quality man-made snow, according to Day, and even the colder stretches Gilford has seen so far have been in the low 20s.

“It’s just been really marginal, temperature-wise,” Day said. 

Gunstock is not the only mountain dealing with a lack of climatic cooperation.

Waterville Valley postponed its original Dec. 4 opening day to Dec. 10 and Cranmore said Wednesday that its midweek daily opening would be pushed to Dec. 15. Crotched Mountain shared Nov. 29 that its projected Dec. 2 opening had to be delayed — a new opening has not been announced. Mount Sunapee has only four open trails and Cannon Mountain has no beginner terrain currently available.