Blue skies, light winds, and mountains of snow greeted skiers and snowboarders, as thousands took to the hills at resorts for the first full weekend of skiing across central Ontario.
November has been a month for the record books, with abnormal amounts of snowfall for parts of the region and unseasonable cold weather; it's allowed resorts to begin snowmaking a month earlier than usual.
The result; Blue Mountain Resort, Horseshoe Resort, and Mount St. Louis Moonstone have opened earlier than ever before.
"I'm 51-years-old, said skier Tom Vali, "never in my life have I ever skied this early in the year before in conditions as good as this."
Temperatures remained well below seasonal all weekend and snowmaking operations have not let up. Robert Huter with Mount St. Louis says the resort has a 60 centimetre base in some areas on the hill and giant mounds of snow in other areas ready for grooming.
"We are now at fifty-million gallons for the season," said Huter," that is getting close to fifty per cent of our manmade snow for the year, so we are way ahead of target right now."
The head start to the season gives resorts some insurance that they should have plenty of snow during the holidays.
Frank McGuirk, with Mountain Side Sports, says many businesses that cater to skiers and snowboarders have already seeing the economic benefits.
"It's everyone, there is traffic in town right anything from Tim Hortons all the way to the Holiday Inn," said McGuirk, "everyone is feeling the effects."
Mount St. Louis is now open seven days a week, and at this point in the season, The Blue Mountains and Horseshoe Resort will be open on Weekends.
