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BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON -- The snow making machines throughout Brighton aren't anything like real snow, but the crowds heading down Brighton's slopes Friday didn't seem to mind.
"It's beautiful out there," said 82-year old Arthur Traiger. "If you can walk, then come up and ski."
Traiger said he's been thinking about this day the entire summer. It was his first day out on the slopes.
Resort | Opening date |
---|---|
Alta | Nov. 20 |
Beaver Mountain | TBA |
Brian Head | Nov. 21 |
Brighton | Open |
The Canyons | Nov. 27 |
Deer Valley | Dec. 5 |
Park City | Nov. 21 |
Powder Mountain | Nov. 28 |
Snowbasin | Nov. 26 |
Snowbird | Nov. 21 |
Solitude | Open |
Sundance | Dec. 11 |
Wolf Creek | Nov. 27 |
Brighton opened Wednesday, making two ski hills in Utah now open for the winter season; Solitude was the first.
That makes Big Cottonwood Canyon the place to go this weekend if you want to go skiing or snowboarding. Not all the lifts are open -- neither are all the runs -- but it's finally a chance to get on some snow.
"Today is my first day back; and the snow and everything, it's great," said Lehi resident Gardner Nielson.
It should get better this weekend, when real snow from an upcoming storm is expected to cover a lot of the man-made snow.
"Yeah, we're excited because a new storm, what that means is more runs, more trails and more lifts open up," said Jared Winkler, spokesman for Brighton Ski Resort. "we're really expecting a big turnout tomorrow, being our first Saturday and our first weekend open for us."
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com