Whitetail Resort's winter season opens this weekend

MERCERSBURG - Hoping for a pre-Christmas ski session? Whitetail Resort can make it happen, as it will kickoff its winter season on Sunday, two days before the holiday. 

The mountain will be open to skiing and snowboarding 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., the resort said in a news release. Whitetail Adventure Snow Tubing will also open, starting at 9 a.m. 

Despite temperatures reaching into the low 60s on Friday, the resort's snowmakers took advantage of several consistent nights of cold weather and covered the resort in snow.

Going forward, highs will be in the 40s for most of the next week, and after a warmer day on Thursday, temperatures will continue dropping the first days of the new year. 

More:Whitetail Resort targets early opening to winter season

The season will start slightly later than last year, which had a Dec. 16 opening day. 

Whitetail's general manager, Don MacAskill told Public Opinion a month ago that he was hoping for an early opening to the season. At the time, the resort was preparing its snowmaking machines and awaiting the approximately four consecutive sub-freezing nights it takes before they can pump out the fake flakes. 

Guests will see a few changes when they trek into the resort this year. 

The facility spent about $1.7 million over the summer in capital improvements, which included adding 17 new state-of-the-art snow-making guns and upgrades to its Limelight trail. 

There is also a new outdoor pavilion overlooking the slopes, a new tube storage building, and 200 additional snowboards available for rent. 

More:Whitetail gets okay to serve alcohol at ski and golf resorts

More:Whitetail, Roundtop & Liberty resorts to be sold for $76 million

Whitetail also has a new owner. The resort's previous owner, York-based Snow Time Inc., sold for $76 million to Peak Resorts. Whitetail, Roundtop Mountain and Liberty Mountain will join the company's 14 other resorts in the Midwest and Northeast. 

"While ownership of the resorts is changing, the current staff, management teams, and the resort offerings will all remain the same thus guaranteeing the same high level of service that the guests have come to expect at Whitetail Resort," Whitetail said in its release. 

In November, voters in Montgomery Township gave the Whitetail ski and golf resorts the okay to sell beer, wine and liquor. First, Whitetail must apply for liquor licenses through he Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and the board must approve the licenses.