LUDLOW, Vt. – Okemo Mountain Resort opened for skiing and riding on Sunday, November 16. Four Okemo Mountain School students were the first in line to earn first-chair bragging rights. They ripped through a banner that welcomed snow-loving guests to the start of winter and Okemo’s 2014/2015 season. Okemo opened with top-to-bottom skiing and riding on 11 trails serviced by four lifts.

Okemo Vice President and General Manager Bruce Schmidt served pastries and coffee to skiers and riders waiting for the official start to the season. He was joined by Okemo’s mascot Calvin the Catamount and several other staff members who helped make the event a festive occasion.

This was the second consecutive year that Okemo opened for the season with top-to-bottom terrain – due in no small part to a snowmaking system investment of $1 million last year and the addition of another 100 energy efficient HKD tower guns this year. The introduction of more efficient snowmaking equipment with technological advances allows Okemo to make snow more efficiently at closer-to-freezing temperatures, and at lower elevations earlier in the season.

Snowmaking efforts are ongoing and continuing whenever the temperatures allow. Okemo anticipates having more terrain open as the season progresses. More trails will open as soon as conditions allow and ski patrol deems them safe.

Terrain park features were installed on the Sapphire trail on Okemo’s opening day and more features will be added.

Okemo’s new Sunburst Six six-passenger bubble chairlift with heated seats is still under construction and an early December opening of that new lift is anticipated.

Rising above the village of Ludlow, in south-central Vermont, Okemo Mountain Resort is a four-season playground that built its reputation for quality and superior guest service as a winter retreat for skiers and snowboarders. Originally a small, community-run ski hill, Okemo began to blossom in 1982 when Tim and Diane Mueller purchased the ski area and transformed it into a popular, world-class resort destination. It consistently receives accolades and wins awards for snow quality, grooming, terrain parks, family programs, slopeside lodging, resort dining and its friendly, professional staff. OnTheSnow.com visitors named Okemo Mountain Resort their favorite family ski resort, granting it top honors in the Best Family Resort category in this year’s Visitors’ Choice Awards. And Okemo offers so much more than skiing. Alternative activities abound for every member of the family.

More information may be obtained by calling (802) 228-1600 or by visiting okemo.com. Conditions updates are posted daily.