Many resorts across the U.S. called it a season long ago. Killington, Vermont, just soaked up one of its heaviest snowfalls ever and officially ended its run on Memorial Day, as did Palisades Tahoe on the opposite side of the county. Mammoth Mountain announced this week it will stay open through June 7, although the resort’s website currently has that date listed as its closing day. Timberline Lodge in Oregon is open until mid-July, and Utah’s Snowbird is still operating as well.
But all those places are serious outliers from the wave of ski areas that started wrapping things up as early as March. Minnesota’s Hyland Hills is gearing up for its own unique out-of-season plans though, having saved snow and announcing a one-day reopening known as June Jam.
Many places rely on snow storage for early season openings, maintaining a solid base throughout the season, and at areas where athletes can train year-round. At Hyland Hills, by saving snow it makes the annual mid-summer event possible nearly three months after the 2025-2026 season ended. Levi Ski Resort in Finland, for example, offers a famous “seven-month snow guarantee.” The resort revolutionized the practice in 2016 and refined its methods well enough in just a couple years that it was able to start the 2018 season by mid-October. Levi produces massive amounts of manmade snow during peak conditions (around -10C or colder) in January and February, generating “a truckload of snow every eight seconds.” Massive piles are covered with specially designed, insulated mats that are 70 mm thick, 4 meters wide, and 18 meters long. Protective sheets are then placed over about 400 of those insulated mats.
The June 10 reopening at Hyland Hills is being broken up into two separate sessions for riders and snowboarders. There won’t be much more than a bunny slope terrain park, so the double session format is designed to manage crowds. A video from last year’s June Jam shows the crunchy snow is less than ideal and space is limited on the Hyland Hills pile, but at $20 a ticket, there are probably plenty of midwest folks who will be happy to srtap on skis or a snowboard for a few hours at the start of summer.
