This year, for the first time, I’ve come across the idea of “rules” for the “Race to Open.” Perhaps the origins are as recent as this article published in the wake of Sunday River’s opening day last year that claimed Loveland was the official winner because they were the first resort to open and stay open. Otherwise, the author postured, what’s the difference between a resort like Timberline that stays open weekends all summer and fall? I can think of two: no glacier and a boat load of media coverage.

Here’s the thing, the media doesn’t care about rules, they care about getting a story. The first resort that gets their lifts turning with skiers sliding giddily down their slopes is going to win in their eyes. That’s a story worthy of the front page. John Sellers, Loveland’s Marketing Director, said the PR from winning is worth more than a million dollars which begs the question, does it really matter what rules we make?

Wolf Creek in Colorado was *almost the first to open, reaping the rewards of a 3′ storm last week. Are they still open? No. Will they open for daily operations before Loveland or A-Basin? I don’t know. Either way, here is a small part of the coverage I found of their opening which doesn’t include over 500 shares on Facebook, thousands of tweets on Twitter, and countless water cooler conversations. Did they win? You be the judge.

*I say “almost” because Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort actually opened a couple hours before Wolf Creek. Unfortunately, the folks at LVSSR asked their PR & Marketing partners to not make any announcement about the opening until they were already open, missing the chance to snag the spotlight. Not sure of the reasons, but this is what they missed out on…

ESPN
http://espn.go.com/action/snowboarding/story/_/id/7072840/wolf-creek-colo-first-ski-resort-world-open-11-12-season-oct-ober-8

Freeskier
http://freeskier.com/stories/la-ni%C3%B1-delivers-wolf-creek-colorados-october-8th-opening

Planet Ski (Europe)
http://www.planetski.eu/news/3155

Freeskier
http://freeskier.com/stories/october-snowfall-opens-wolf-creek-ski-area-southern-colorado

Transworld
http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1000160815/news/ski-season-to-begin-tomorrow-in-colorado

Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/wolf-creek-ski-area-opens_n_1000539.html

KDVR
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-wolf-creek-to-become-1st-ski-area-in-nation-to-open-20111007,0,49122.story

The Ski Channel
http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20111007/Time-to-Hit-the-Slopes-at-Wolf-Creek-This-Weekend

The Ski Channel
http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20111007/Wolf-Creek-set-to-kick-off-201112-ski-season

Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/takingoff/chi-colorado-skiing-colorado-ski-season-starts-this-weekend-20111007,0,394480.story

Transworld Business
http://business.transworld.net/74592/features/wolf-creek-ski-resort-set-to-open-tomorrow/

On the Snow
http://www.onthesnow.com/news/68/a/74555/wolf-creek-first-to-open-in-20112012

Snowboarder Mag
http://www.snowboardermag.com/industry-news/wolf-creek-opening-saturday/

Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/skiing-in-national/wolf-creek-ski-area-plans-country-s-earliest-opening

Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19059053?source=rss&utm_medium=twitter&cref=twitter

Powder Mag
http://www.powdermag.com/latest-news/ski-season-to-begin-tomorrow-in-colorado/

Colorado Ski Country USA
http://www.coloradoski.com/lift-served-weekend-skiing-in-colorado

Aspen Times
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20111007/NEWS/111009865/1077&ParentProfile=1058

Summit Daily
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20111007/NEWS/111009875/1078&ParentProfile=1055

Aurora Sentinel
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/email_push/living/article_9f4f51ca-f0ef-11e0-8b4a-001cc4c002e0.html

KJCT8
http://www.kjct8.com/news/29417270/detail.html

Grand Junction Sentinel
http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/its-time-ski-season-kicks-off-saturday/

The Republic
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7541aa14315840b19b839d550c5ebc72/CO–Wolf-Creek

9News
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/223310/346/And-the-winner-is-Wolf-Creek-Ski-Area

Biz Journals
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2011/10/07/colorado-ski-season-opens-saturday.html

AP
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CO_WOLF_CREEK_COOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

KWGN
http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-wolf-creek-to-become-1st-ski-area-in-nation-to-open-20111007,0,1556450.story

Unofficial Networks
http://unofficialnetworks.com/wolf-creek-open-weekend-3-lifts-sat-sun-33-tickets-46207/

Mtn Weekly
http://mtnweekly.com/wolf-creek-to-open-saturday-for-skiing-and-riding-24485

Out There Colorado
http://www.outtherecolorado.com/201110078002/Skiing-snowboarding/Wolf-Creek-to-open-this-weekend-after-3-feet-of-snowfall.html

Durango Herald
http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20111007/NEWS01/710079893/article/20111007/NEWS01/ 710079893/Wolf-Creek-opens-this-weekend

Skiing.About.com
http://skiing.about.com/b/2011/10/07/wolf-creek-opens-for-skiing.htm

The list goes on and on…

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.