JJ Toland of Sugarbush said the resort is aiming to open the morning of Nov. 22, giving skiers one more reason to be thankful. "The last 10 or 11 years, we've opened Mt. Ellen first," Toland said. "With the new base lodge at Lincoln Peak, we're back here, making snow on Upper Jester Trail." Toland thought back to last winter, when opening day through Jan. 18 wasn't much to write home about, and then how the season turned around Jan. 18. "April was the snowiest month," he said. "We had 86 inches of snow over the course of 14 days. Our normal season total is 262 inches, and we finished last season with 314 inches. It was ridiculous. I canceled a trip out West because we had all the snow here. I'd love a repeat of last winter, just have it start five weeks earlier."