White traces — Early snow means skis, snowboards not far off

The foot of snow that fell at higher elevations last week, accented by the white traces to the tops of Utah's northern mountains, means but one thing — first turns on skis and snowboards are not that far off.

Typically, resorts shoot for a mid-November opening. Brighton, however, always one of the first resorts to open, has started running lifts earlier. In fact, in 2004, Brighton started hauling skiers on Oct. 29. The resort was reporting an upper base of 58 inches. At this point, Alta had received a total of 75 inches.

This was the earliest opening for a Utah resort in 21 years. But it proves that it can happen.

Skiers can start by looking at the various preseason "local" lift-ticket prices resorts are offering. Utah skiers can save a lot of money by taking advantage of preseason offers. It's also a time to think about tuning up the skis and/or snowboard and pulling out the parkas and gloves.

Ski areas have taken note of the weather and have stepped up work to put the finishing touches on summer projects.

This includes everything from a ski tunnel to new lifts to wider runs.

And just what new things can skiers expect to see this coming season?

Alta — Last year the resort introduced a new Watson Shelter, an eating/warming building mid-mountain that took the place of the historic Watson Shelter. This year skiers will find a "completed" shelter. Finishing touches, including a wall of memorable photos, were completed and land around the shelter re-vegetated.

The 5,000-square foot shelter offers everything from a modern cafeteria to a ski shop.

Skiers will also find photos from the noted photographer Ray Adkinson adorning the walls at various locations.

Beaver — It was always the dream of area founder Harry Seeholzer to have a lift from bottom to top. This summer the resort replaced an old lift with a new one named, as might be expected, Harry's Dream.

Brighton — Summer work focused on manicuring the mountain and working on the terrain parks. It also installed a "Magic Carpet" in its ski-teaching area. The carpet carries young skiers up the gentle slope for an easy ride down.

The Canyons — A new lift, the Dreamcatchers high-speed quad, will open new ski terrain for intermediate and advanced skiers. It will add more than 200 acres of skiable terrain to the resort's resume.

Following the theory that more is better, the resort has also upgraded its popular Tombstone lift. It was bumped up from a four-passenger high-speed to a Six-Pack or six-passenger high-speed.

Deer Valley — Here, too, steps were taken to deliver more skiers to the slopes faster. The Sterling lift on Bald Mountain was bumped up from a regular-speed triple chair to a four-passenger high-speed lift.