Arizona Snowbowl Begins Snowmaking Ahead of Opening Day

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 10:34 AM ET

Snowmaking has landed in Arizona.

At Arizona Snowbowl, the snow guns turned on Wednesday night (October 15, 2025), blowing streams of snow onto the slopes. The start of snowmaking outpaces the ski resort’s push last season by a few days, which began on October 18, 2024.

Arizona Snowbowl planned to continue making snow on Thursday night.

If you're in need of a reminder to buy a ski pass or make sure your equipment’s tuned and ready to go, here’s a look at the latest wintry action at the ski resort.

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Over the past several seasons, Arizona Snowbowl has expanded its snowmaking capacity. Ahead of this coming winter, the ski resort improved snowmaking near the lower mountain Humphreys Peak chairlift in an effort to make the ski season last longer and be more reliable.

Weather and conditions permitting, Arizona Snowbowl plans to open on November 21, 2025.

Last year, however, the ski resort opened on November 8 thanks to an early-season storm, setting a new opening date record in the process. Then, Arizona Snowbowl remained open until June 1, 2025, establishing another watermark by offering 185 days of skiing in a single season, the most in its history.

Arizona Snowbowl has made headlines this summer alongside other Mountain Capital Partners resorts for its steeply discounted advance lift tickets. Officially, those tickets started at $10 and increased in price with demand, but the ski resort also had (and still does) a $1 ticket deal hidden in its ticket calendar.

Arizona Snowbowl isn’t alone in kicking off snowmaking as winter approaches. Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, Colorado, got their starts last weekend as they vie to become some of the first ski resorts to open in North America. Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, Nevada, also started blowing snow recently.

While October temperatures aren’t always conducive to consistent, non-stop snowmaking, hearing the whir of the guns is enough to remind skiers that their favorite season is, indeed, on the way. Think cold, people!

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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