Brian Head Resort is pumping the brakes on the hype over this super El Niño winter — and on its targeted opening day.

In August, Utah’s southernmost resort optimistically set this Friday as the tentative first day of its — and the state’s — 2026-27 ski and snowboard season. That seemed realistic after two recent storms that favored its high elevation and southern location dropped a total of 18 inches on the resort, according to tallies from the forecasting website Open Snow. Brian Head reported that 21 inches of snow has fallen on its slopes since Oct. 14.

But the most recent snow fell on ground that wasn’t frozen, causing it to melt quickly. It also came with rain at the lowest elevations, making conditions unsuitable for skiing. As a result, general manager Tom Pettigrew said Wednesday that Brian Head will delay its opening day indefinitely.

“We’ve had some good early season snow,” Pettigrew said in a statement, “and the improvements we made on Navajo Mountain are helping our crews make the most of every snowmaking opportunity.”

Brian Head poured nearly $1 million into snowmaking equipment during the offseason. That includes adding a pipeline on Navajo Mountain that will allow up to 24 snow guns (up from 18) to operate simultaneously. However, the resort was not able to turn them on until Tuesday due to warm temperatures.

Unfortunately for the resort and for skiers and snowboarders, Open Snow isn’t predicting any snow to fall at Brian Head in the next 10 days. Plus, temperatures are expected to rise again. Highs are forecast to stretch into the 40s while lows could stay above freezing for at least a week.

“We’re taking things day by day,” Pettigrew said, “and we can’t wait to get the lifts spinning and welcome everyone back.”

Brian Head resort also postponed its opener last season. It had predicted a Nov. 7 start but actually welcomed guests Nov. 21. In 2024-25, it opened Nov. 8, the second-earliest start to the season in the resort’s history.