{"id":114451,"date":"2026-02-15T06:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114451\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T06:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:05:07","slug":"winter-weather-having-varied-impacts-on-area-ski-resorts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114451\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter weather having varied impacts on area ski resorts"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the extreme winter weather helped contribute to ideal conditions on the slopes, the bitter cold and significant snowfall also created some challenges for area ski resorts in recent months.<\/p>\n

The high temperature reported in Pleasant Mount, near Elk Mountain Ski Resort, in Susquehanna County ranged from 6 to 14 for nine days from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, the low temperature hovered between minus 2 and minus 9 for consecutive days from Jan. 27 to Jan. 31, per NWS data.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extreme cold has definitely hurt us because people stay home when it\u2019s super cold,\u201d said Bob DeLuca, director of sales and marketing for Elk Mountain in Herrick Twp. \u201cWhen it\u2019s zero and below, and combined with some pretty high winds, that makes for some tough conditions. Extreme temperatures and lots of wind actually forced us to close early a couple times. We encourage people to keep checking themselves and the people they\u2019re with for frostbite and to come in to warm up after a couple of runs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elk Mountain received a total of 40 inches of snow throughout December and January \u2014 about 8 inches above normal \u2014 according to the National Weather Service. More than 10 inches of snow accumulated during one day in late January.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never thought we\u2019d be in a position where it was too cold or there\u2019s too much snow on the roads,\u201d DeLuca said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the high temperature reported at the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. remained in the teens for nine consecutive days from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1 \u2014 ranging from 11 degrees to 19 degrees \u2014 per NWS data.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, when it\u2019s really cold, it impacts business,\u201d said Charles Jefferson, part-owner of Montage Mountain. \u201cWe see some casual skiers that might not have the gear, but if you have the gear it\u2019s just beautiful out there. It\u2019s been great conditions. The snow has been fabulous all season long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jefferson noted snowmaking efforts have continued without any issues throughout the winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been building our base all along,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only real challenge is the wind. When it\u2019s windy, it\u2019s a challenge because you\u2019re trying to make snow but it\u2019s blowing places you don\u2019t want it to go. But the temperatures have not been a problem for us. The biggest challenge is when you get the warmups. You don\u2019t want the ground thawing, because once the ground starts to thaw, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Friends<\/p>\n

Friends Caitlin Rudalavage and Lana Celli, both of Dunmore, ride the ski lift at Montage Mountain Resorts in Moosic Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Skis<\/p>\n

Skis rest on the bottom of the slopes at Montage Mountain Resorts in Moosic Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Skiiers<\/p>\n

Skiiers walk to the ski lifts to go up the mountain at Montage Mountain Resorts in Moosic Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A snowboarder glides down a slope at Elk Mountain Ski Resort in Herrick Twp. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

Friends Caitlin Rudalavage and Lana Celli, both of Dunmore, ride the ski lift at Montage Mountain Resorts in Moosic Tuesday, January 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout December and January, a total of 31.6 inches of snow was measured at the airport \u2014 about 12 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou walk outside and see the snow everywhere,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cThat plays well into the perception and it also plays well into the conditions. There\u2019s no question that natural snow is a wonderful thing for ski resorts throughout the East Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jefferson added that all of Montage\u2019s trails have been open for weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis season has been one of our best and we\u2019re looking at temperatures for Presidents Day weekend that are really going to boost attendance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jefferson anticipates Montage Mountain will remain open for skiing and snowboarding through March, weather permitting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had 103 days last year and we expect to have at least 100 days this year,\u201d he said. I actually don\u2019t think we lost a day at all thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeLuca also expects more seasonable temperatures will lead to increased sales at Elk Mountain during Presidents Day weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather is going to be very favorable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

DeLuca boasted that patrons have described the condition of the trails at Elk \u2014 which are also fully open \u2014 as \u201cspectacular\u201d and the best in 20 years.<\/p>\n

While snowmaking also remains ongoing at Elk, when needed, DeLuca stressed the plethora of natural snow makes a big difference at the resort, especially on particular trails.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Lehigh trail doesn\u2019t have snowmaking, so we can\u2019t always open it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere have been seasons when it\u2019s only open for a short time, but it\u2019s open now and it\u2019s been open for a few weeks. People really enjoy that trail \u2014 it\u2019s an easier trail, but it has beautiful scenery. At that point in the season, we\u2019re not making snow as often. It\u2019s just to beef up certain areas. We\u2019re in very good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jefferson enjoyed the ski conditions at Montage Mountain firsthand last weekend as he traversed the slopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen conditions better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the extreme winter weather helped contribute to ideal conditions on the slopes, the bitter cold and significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[60,201,182,28,178,180,179,2942,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-114451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-lackawanna-county","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-scranton","13":"tag-scranton-headlines","14":"tag-scranton-news","15":"tag-susquehanna-county","16":"tag-top-stories-stt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}