First Non-Glacial Ski Resort in the Northern Hemisphere OPENED This Morning

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Ruka, Finland, the first non-glacial resort to open for winter 2019/20. Credit: Ruka Facebook

Winter has begun in the northern hemisphere as the first non-glacial resort started their lifts turning this morning. Ruka Resort in Lapland, opened this morning, beginning one of the longest seasons in the world. The resort will remain open until at least May 2020.

Fresh snow in the area has complemented the snow the resort ‘saved’ from last year. Using a technique known as snow-farming, Ruka gathered up any remaining snow at the end of last season, insulated it under huge covers, then redistributed it recently when the temperatures dropped enough.

The resorts say that the ‘old snow’ is actually good to ski on as, they say, it has lower moisture content.

ruka, Finland
Ruka, Finland.

There are currently 10 ski areas in Europe currently open, but all of those operate on glaciers.

North American resorts aren’t far behind, many have already started making snow. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, NV has announced October 25th as their opening day. And a trio of resorts in Colorado, A-Basin, Loveland, and Keystone, are battling out the #RaceToOpen to be the first resort in the country to open.

Lapland is the largest and most northern region of Finland.


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