North America — It’s no secret that the Western USA had a rough season due to a lack of natural snowfall. While snowmaking is one solution, more limited water supplies than on the East Coast limit its effectiveness. What this means for the industry is that they are looking at more creative ways to get a head start on next winter.
In recent years, ski resorts in Europe have used snow tarp to prepare for the upcoming ski season. Ski Resorts like Levi and Ruka have used it to open their slopes in early October. Others have used the tarps to protect shrinking glaciers.
The process is fairly simple. Ski resorts pile up a bunch of the remaining snow and then cover it with a surface. That could be something as simple as hay or the blankets sold by Snow Secure. Started in 2014, Snow Secure sells polystyrene panels that cover the snow. It absorbs the heat, protecting the snow from rapid melting. The product made it onto TIME Magazine’s 2025 Best Invetions List. However, they don’t come cheap, as Sun Peaks paid $120,000 for their blanket, while Bogus Basin paid $180,000 for a larger one.
Here’s a rundown of which US and Canadian ski resorts have used and will use this tactic.
USA
Some ski resorts have been using snow preservation techniques for some time to host summer and fall rail jams. Some examples of that include Jay Peak and Trollhaugen. However, snow farming is now evolving to preserve snow that will lay the foundation for the next ski season.
Last year, Bogus Basin saw major success with its snow farming, with 80% of the snow surviving through the summer. While they had a late opening, the snow they kept was pivotal to opening when they did. Bogus Basin put together its new stash earlier this month. They reportedly also bought five new blankets.
Other ski resorts are jumping on the snow tarp train for this summer. This includes Ski Apache in New Mexico, Proctor Ski Area in New Hampshire, and Tyrol Basin in Wisconsin (which did a trial run last year).
“We are excited to see how the Snow Secure system keeps our pile of snow throughout the summer, said Steele Henderson, the Manager of Proctor Ski Area. “Ideally, we will be able to uncover and push the pile back out in early November to get the Proctor athletes, and potentially athletes from neighboring ski programs, on local early season snow which gives them the opportunity to be weeks ahead in their training programs. It will also allow us to change our plan of attack for early season snow making so that we can attempt to be open earlier top to bottom for Alpine and our Nordic facilities.”
Perhaps the most notable new partner is Soldier Hollow, which will host events in the 2034 Olympics. The Utah Nordic skiing facility saw little snow this past winter, and adding the blankets will allow for earlier training, no matter what the following winter brings.
Boyne Resorts is reportedly interested in the product as well. Their Vice President of Mountain Sports, Jeremy Cooper, called it “the next frontier” for the ski industry to the news outlet Slate.
Canada
Sun Peaks added Snow Secure tarps last year to provide a space for athletes to train early in the season. Many mountains reportedly contacted Sun Peaks about the technology, with the ski resort saying positive things about the product.
Probably the most surprising addition out there is Ski Martock. The Nova Scotia ski resort is using it with the goals to open early next season.
With how quickly the world is changing, we’ll likely see more jump on this bandwagon in the years ahead.
For more information on Snow Farming’s boom, check out Slate’s recent article on it, or Snow Secure’s website.
Image/Video Credits: Bogus Basin, Proctor Academy, Ski Martock
