The ski season will kick off tomorrow, Friday 17th October, first in Finland then later in Colorado.
Although glacier ski areas or centres with 'glacier-like' permanent snow fields are already open in Europe and North America, the new openings are significant as they are the first for non-glacier resorts for 2014-15.
Both high-latitude Ruka in Lapland and high altitude Arapahoe Basin in Colorado have taken advantage of low temperatures for snowmaking, but both have also had good natural snowfalls, with six inches falling on A Basin's slopes last weekend.
Ruka's Sauraa main slope will be open thanks in part to the resort's snowmaking network being enhanced and even more extensive than previously.
"The snowmaking not only enables early start on the ski season but also maintains the slopes in good condition all the way to spring," said a resort statement, "The new automatic snow guns are constantly making adjustments to the water flow based on the outside temperature. This way we make sure to always get the best possible snow quality."
Meanwhile Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (A-Basin) will kick off Colorado's 2014-15 ski and snowboard season will begin around 9 hours later on Friday, October 17, 2014 thanks to the time difference.
Skiers and snowboarders will be able to make turns on the intermediate High Noon trail starting at 9am. Guests will take the Black Mountain Express high-speed quad chairlift to the top of the run at mid-mountain.
"Conditions have been outstanding for snowmaking and we are very excited to open this Friday," said Alan Henceroth, A-Basin's Chief Operating Officer. "It is always great to watch people have fun skiing and riding. I look forward to catching up with old friends and getting The Basin rolling."
A-Basin's mountain operations team started making snow on October 2, 2014, and they were able to create the 18-inch base necessary for opening over the course of several days. The ski area also received about a foot of natural snow in the weeks prior to opening.