Early Snow Causes People In Utah To Be Excited About Skiing

Snow has fallen over northern Utah mountains during the past few days, and more is expected. In some spots it is deep enough to allow die-hard enthusiasts to ski down hills. As a result, people are getting excited about the ski season.

Brighton and Solitude plan to open on Nov 12. Most Utah resorts plan to open in November, and a few will open in early December. We will publish opening days as they firm up.

KSL has this report about the snow. Below are details.

One drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Brighton proves it, where die-hards like Sandy resident Sean Farley were busy walking up snow-covered hills, snowboarding down them to hit a jump, and then doing it all over again: several times.

"It's a good time," said Farley. "It's awesome. It's good to take,like, even that little run."

The little run he kept sliding down was making 100 feet long, right next to where a chairlift operator was busy testing the lifts.

Brighton is making snow Tuesday night for the first time this season. Right now, everything is covered with natural snow.

Last year, northern Utah's resorts got a lot of snow in October, which made everyone in the ski industry excited. However, no more significant snow fell for almost two months. That left a lot of slushy, rocky and muddy runs for a lot of resorts that opened early. This year, with more early-October snow, everyone is cautiously optimistic.

"We don't want to jump the gun too soon," said Jessica Kunzer, spokeswoman for Ski Utah. "I think you'll see the majority of Utah's resorts opening probably a little closer to Thanksgiving."