The sign at the entrance to the Whiteface Mountain ski area is seen on Wednesday, Nov. 12. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

WILMINGTON — The Whiteface Mountain ski area is slated to open on Saturday.

It’s the earliest announced opening of any ski center in New York state for the 2025-26 ski season. This comes on the heels of a cold and snowy week that bolstered snowmaking, which began there on Nov. 1.

Whiteface will open again on Sunday before closing again for most of next week. The mountain will reopen Friday, Nov. 21, for season pass holders only. It will open the weekend of Nov. 22-23 for everyone, before closing once more until Friday, Nov. 28, when it is slated to begin daily operations for the season.

These dates are all tentative and subject to weather and conditions, according to a statement from the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates Whiteface.

Whiteface Mountain General Manager Aaron Kellett told the Enterprise at the beginning of November that 2025 was the earliest start to snowmaking that he could remember in his approximately two decades working there. While cooperative weather played an obvious role in that, Kellett said the real difference-maker was hard work by snowmaking crews to maintain, prep and test the equipment earlier, troubleshooting any issues well in advance so the mountain could hit the ground running as soon as temperatures allowed.

During the opening weekend, Whiteface will be operating on slightly abbreviated hours, with lifts not serving the public until 10 a.m. and closing at 3 or 3:30 p.m., depending on the specific lift. The regular season lift hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year’s start date is similar to that of last year, when Whiteface opened on Nov. 15, 2024, for season pass holders only and on Nov. 16, 2024 for everyone. This year, the season pass holders’ day has been shifted to the Friday before the second operations weekend.

Gore and Belleayre mountains — both operated by ORDA — were not scheduled to open until next weekend. There are a few other New England ski resorts, such as Killington in Vermont and Sunday River in Maine, open this weekend as well.

Like last year, Whiteface will also begin with summit-area terrain only. Skiers and riders will have to “download,” or ride the Face Lift chairlift back down to the base area, rather than being able to ski or snowboard all the way down, as there won’t be enough snow coverage yet on the lower parts of the mountain.

Whiteface officials emphasize that there is no beginner terrain available on opening weekend. The intermediate-rated trails that will be open might also be more difficult than usual in certain areas, given the early-season conditions. Snowmaking will be ongoing and mountain staff note that guests should exercise increased caution. The trail grooming plan was not yet available as of press time on Wednesday.

The Cloudsplitter Gondola will also not be running on opening weekend, and there will be no scenic rides offered on it either.

The trails slated to be open on the first weekend include Riva Ridge, Paron’s Run, The Follies, Excelsior, Ilmar’s Alley, Lower Northway and Summit Express. The lifts scheduled to open are the Face Lift and Summit Quad chairlifts. The Face Lift Chair runs from the base area to mid-mountain in the vicinity of the loading area for the Summit Quad, which — as the name suggests — takes skiers and snowboarders to the top of the ski area.

Face Lift will be open to upward-bound skiers and snowboarders from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, while the Summit Quad will be open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Skiers and riders staying until the end of operations for the day will be able to continue downloading on Face Lift after it closes for uploading.

Food and beverages will be available on opening weekend on a limited basis, with the Cloudspin Bar & Grill serving from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Rentals and tuning services, along with the mountain’s apparel store, will all be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Group lessons are not scheduled for the opening weekend. Private lessons will be available only for intermediate level and above skiers and snowboarders, and reservations are required. Those can be made at the Main Base Lodge’s ticket desk.

Given the limited terrain and reduced hours, opening weekend day tickets are selling at a discounted price. Adults (ages 20 through 64) are $65. Teenagers (ages 13 through 19) and seniors (ages 65 through 69) are $55. Juniors (ages 7 through 12) are $45. Tickets for those ages 70 and above are $40 and tickets for those ages 6 and under are $10.

More information is available online at whiteface.com.