Fresh tracks and optimism at Ontario’s largest resort. Words & photos :: Colin Field.

While Blue’s social media channels assured everyone that the hill opened at 9 am on Thursday December 7th, 2023, it didn’t. It actually opened at 8:30, much to the chagrin of every videographer and photographer who showed up at 8:40 looking for a classic shot of people excited about the first chair.

The fanfare just didn’t happen. But an early opening is better than no opening and the parking lot was full of keen skiers and snowboarders buckling up and strapping in.

As far as opening days go at Blue Mountain, this was one of the better ones; temps hovered around three degrees making for some overcast, but balmy weather and it meant that none of the snowguns were running.

The snow was nice and schmooey, not-quite-spring conditions, but very carvable and there were limited skids of brown down the mountain. There were even a couple fresh tracks to be had. Not only that, it actually looked like winter; some opening days there’s barely enough snow to cover the runs off the Silver Bullet, but this year the entire mountain looks like winter. A welcome change from the dismal 2022-23 season.

This was a solid, enjoyable opening day for Blue. Let’s hope this weekend’s forecast is wrong. With most Ontario resorts hoping to open December 8th, Blue managed to squeeze in one day earlier and the weather fully cooperated.

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