China Peak set to reopen Friday

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- China Peak Mountain Resort is getting ready to reopen on Friday.

Nick Cohee, Director of Skiing, said they got over six inches of snow on Wednesday night into Thursday.

"We are excited to finally get open," Cohee said. "We've had a real strange start to the season".

This season, so far, has been warm and dry. The mountain has seen less than 30 inches of snow this season.

"It's been a real tough start to the season," he explained.

This season is a big contrast from last year where they saw over 500 inches of snow for the whole season.

"We had a great season last year, everybody was really excited," he said. "They hype was definitely real. We put in a new chairlift and we did a lot of stuff on food and beverage venues. So it's been a struggle".

They were hoping to stay open back in December when they opened for a few days. However, they had to close because of the lack of snow.

Cohee mentioned they had to lay off nearly 300 employees.

"What's my reaction, jaw-dropping," he said about the dry season. "It's really hard to predict stuff like this, you really can't predict stuff like this".

Despite the layoffs, they will have enough staff for their reopening.

"We will have enough staff to run the chairlifts," Cohee noted. "We will have enough groomers to provide a good product on snow and we will have some park features setup. we will have enough to have a good time up here".

They only have a few runs open but he added it's cold enough to make snow.

"We are going to make snow as along as temperatures permit," he said. "It's about a little under 20 degrees and a little warmer at the base. the temperatures should stay cold enough to make snow throughout the day today and we will make snow all night".

They hope to open Chair 2 by Sunday but other chairs will be opened.

"Skiers and snowboards can expect Sundown Ridge and Academy to be opened and Chair 6. We will have park features and jibs on Sundown Ridge," Cohee explained. "The 400 carpet will be opened. It's still a great time to learn to ski or snowboard. It's the best terrain on the mountain for beginners and intermediate level".

He mentioned their advanced areas are not open because of the lack of snow.

Cohee added that tickets are at a discounted price because they only have a few areas opened.

For tickets click here.