Montana: Sugar beets shiver in fields

A three-day streak of the coldest early October temperatures in at least 75 years is hampering optimism in the multimillion-dollar regional economy.

California: Boreal opening earliest ever

Skiers and boarders itching to hit the slopes can do it Friday.

That’s when Boreal will turn on its Castle Peak Quad lift, for the resort’s earliest opening ever, marketing spokesman Jon Slaughter said.

“The first record was set at Boreal Mountain Resort on Oct. 11, 2000,” he said in a press release. “Boreal’s opening will also mark the first and only resort to open in California for the 2009/10 winter season.”

Skiers hit the slopes at Mount Charleston area resort | Las Vegas Sun

“I’ve been making snow here since I was 16, and it’s never been this early,” Beam said. “It’s one of the best openings we’ve ever had on the beginners hill.”
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“It’s astronomical to be skiing in Las Vegas before Thanksgiving, let alone before Halloween,” said Savanna Jason, 22, of Las Vegas. She said the snow was a little sticky, but given the circumstances: “We’ll take it.”
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Balwin, a self-proclaimed “snow farmer in the desert,“ said the resort opened the day after Thanksgiving last year. This year marked the earliest the park had ever opened – about seven weeks earlier than normal, he said.

Snow guns roar to life at Golden Peak in Vail | PostIndependent.com

VAIL, Colorado — Matt Carroll saw the snow guns roaring at Golden Peak in Vail Tuesday morning and had two thoughts — “Man, that's early,” followed immediately by “woo-hoo!”

Those snow guns are in limited use — the Golden Peak slopes used for training by Ski and Snowboard Club Vail are being sprayed early, and other areas will follow in the next few weeks. But it is early.

“I can't remember seeing snowmaking this early, but it's been chilly,” Carroll said.