October has barely started, but one small Massachusetts ski area is already building a base for the 2026-27 season.
Ski Ward in Shrewsbury began making snow at the end of September using its Latitude 90 all-weather snowmaking system. The technology allows the ski area to produce snow when temperatures are far too warm for conventional snowguns, giving the 220-foot hill outside Worcester a legitimate shot at offering lift-serviced skiing sometime in October.
Ski Ward has not announced a public opening date, so an October opening is not guaranteed but they have pulled off October opening days for three seasons in a row.
Making Snow Without Waiting For Freezing Temperatures
Traditional snowmaking depends on sufficiently cold and dry conditions. Ski Ward’s Latitude 90 system works differently, producing snow inside an enclosed unit before blowing it onto the hill.
Manufacturer SMI says its Latitude 90 systems can operate in temperatures as warm as 77°F. Ski Ward uses the L60 model, which can produce approximately 156 cubic yards of snow every 24 hours and discharge it through two separate outlets.
That is nowhere near the output needed to cover a large destination resort, but Ski Ward is working with a much smaller target. The resort has 45 acres of terrain, nine trails and a 220-foot vertical drop, and the Latitude 90 unit is positioned at the bottom of its beginner area.
The strategy is to concentrate the machine’s output on a relatively small amount of terrain rather than cover the entire ski area. That has allowed Ski Ward to create enough snow for magic carpet-served skiing while much of the surrounding hillside is still green.
Ski Ward Has Done This Before
Ski Ward first attracted widespread attention with the system in 2023. After beginning sustained production in October, the Massachusetts hill became the first ski area in North America to offer outdoor lift-serviced skiing that season, opening its magic carpet on Oct. 22.
The early openings have continued since then. Ski Ward’s own lesson information notes that the resort has been able to open for lift-serviced skiing and snowboarding in October during the past several seasons because of the Latitude 90 system.
Last year, Ski Ward opened a small section of its Dream Maker terrain in October with magic carpet access, terrain park features and inexpensive lift tickets. The scale was obviously different from an opening day at Killington, Arapahoe Basin or another major ski resort, but people were skiing outdoors in Massachusetts before most of the industry’s traditional early-opening contenders had started spinning lifts.
An October Opening Would Come Well Before Ski Ward’s Normal Season
Ski Ward’s regular winter season typically runs from around Thanksgiving through mid-March, according to the resort. Its all-weather snowmaking system has allowed it to stretch activity well beyond that traditional operating window.
The resort is already selling its November beginner programs for 2026, with the first sessions scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Those programs use the same beginner area served by the Latitude 90 system.
That does not mean public skiing will necessarily begin by then. Ski Ward has yet to announce when it plans to open the slope to general skiing and snowboarding this fall. What is clear is that the snowmaking process has already started.
At a time of year when many ski resorts are still waiting for their first sustained stretch of freezing temperatures, a small hill in Massachusetts is once again piling up snow and putting itself in the conversation for some of the earliest turns of the season.
