Ski season opens in Simcoe County with record-breaking season pass sales

The first true sign of winter is here in Simcoe County, with several ski hills opening this weekend.

Horseshoe Resort welcomed its first skiers and snowboarders of the season to the slopes on Friday despite the milder temperatures.

Laura Kiley is the marketing director at the Resort and said they were able to open thanks to the favourable temperatures expected next week.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox

"It's certainly more similar to spring skiing," she said. "But the energy is amazing. I'm sure there were plenty of guests who took their kids out today to get on the slopes for the first time this season."

Among those were friends Luca Dikiy and Cooper McGuiness, who stayed from opening to closing on Friday.

"We're super stoked, we're out here shredding," Dikiy said. "We were so happy to hear the other day that Horseshoe was opening December 1, we got straight out here."

It's not the earliest opening for the resort located just north of Barrie, according to Kiley, but it ranks somewhere in between.

The resort expects another busy season this year, with pre-sales racking up.

"We had record-breaking season pass sales," Kiley added. "So we have literally thousands of skiers who have been waiting for this moment since the summer."

At Mount St. Louis Moonstone in Coldwater, temperatures and snow this weekend have also made for a favourable opening.

Officials intend to open on Saturday for the season, with final preparations underway.

"We're hoping to see 125 days of good, solid winter," said general manager Robert Huter. "Six lifts in operations, good base, 25 to 50 centimetres, let's go. We're ready for the season."

Huter said Mount St. Louis Moonstone also had tremendous pre-season sales and expected to see thousands return this winter.