LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Lee Canyon held its winter season opening day on Wednesday. The resort says they have been planning for months. Many skiers and snowboarders are racing to the lifts to enjoy the man-made snow. But the resort expects a big storm this weekend to bring them a lot of the real things.
"Everybody shows up for the opening day and last day, but hopefully, we get 10 to 20 days in between," said Kenny Bott.
The former owner of Lee Canyon, Kenny Bott has been skiing at the resort for 5 decades and says he is excited for the start of the 2022-23 winter season.
"I'm just grateful to see what it ended up being."
Lee Canyon Resort kicked off the first day of its winter season on Wednesday, and many Las Vegas residents flocked to the mountain to hit the lifts.
"I came early this year, I'm super happy to be here," said skier Jessie Purciful.
"She's 10 months old, and she just got on the board for the first time, and she loved it, so we're just happy to be up here," said another skier, Cameron Powell.
"I'm excited to finally be back up here," said skier Henry Kluger.
According to Lee Canyon Marketing Director Jim Seely, the turnout for the opening was good, especially since it was mid-week. Seely says he expects ticket sales to increase even more as the season continues and students go on winter break.
"People are coming up, enjoying the slopes and kind of dusting the cobwebs off," said Seely.
Temperatures dropped below 30 degrees, but for the last couple of weeks, the mountain saw hardly any snow causing the resort to compensate with man-made snow.
"We did a lot of snowmaking coming into this. the temperatures were looking great. we got a little bit of snowfall, and there is a little bit of snowfall in the forecast," said Seely.
Anyone visiting the resort this weekend could be in for a big surprise as a weather system may be moving in, bringing a foot of snow in the highest elevations.
"Our snowfall accumulation has been around 12 inches or so. So hopefully, the storm coming in this weekend will double our snowfall."
The Bluebird and Rabbit Peak lifts run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more information, click here.
