More and more US ski areas have announced that they're opening early for the season, many of them this weekend.
A big factor in the big numbers opening has been cold weather and now snowfall in the East and Midwest of the country which had been seeing warmer than average temperatures preventing snowmaking systems from firing up. That's now changed though and man resorts have been snowmaking around the clock.
Maine's Sunday River claimed the first to open in New England on Thursday (pictured top) with Vermont and Stowe among Vermont areas opening this weekend and Belleayre and Whiteface in New York state doing the same.
Many of the destination resorts in the Western US have also now opened following above average snowfall for late October and the first half of November, some reporting more than six-feet already.
Among the recently opened is the country's biggest ski area at Park City in Utah.
Crystal Mountain and Mt Baker in Washington State are among resorts opening on the Pacific Coast this weekend. Mt Baker is the holder of the record for most ever ski area snowfall in a season, receiving 95 feet of snowfall in the 98-99 season.
Many US ski areas are keen to open this weekend ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday period at the end pf next week.