The 2015-16 ski season officially got started in North America yesterday with Killington in Vermont opening for the season thanks to its mighty snowmaking arsenal firing up due to sufficiently low temperatures.
It is due to be joined by Sunday River in Maine, which in years past has beaten it to be first to open in the country, later today.
There's a battle to be first in the US each winter which is quite often won by resorts in Colorado such as Loveland and Arapahoe Basin, which are among the world's 20 highest ski areas, but even though these areas have been snowmaking on and off for the past few weeks, this year it appears the East has won.
The only near-year-round ski area in North America at Timberline in Oregon had to close in the early summer due to warm temperatures thawing the upper snow cover from the permanent snowfield.
North of the border Canadian areas like Sunshine near Banff and Nakiska near Calgary look set to open at the end of the month or early in November.
Around 20 areas are currently open in the Alps and Scandinavia.