LEE CANYON (KTNV) — A milestone moment is coming for this snow season at Lee Canyon — its Bluebird chair lift will be opening Thursday morning at long last.
When Channel 13 last reported at Lee Canyon on Saturday, staff members were hoping and praying for about eight hours of temperatures consistently cold enough to make enough snow to open up the Bluebird lift, which is one of the biggest and most popular lifts at the resort.
WATCH: Warm winter impacting snow-making at Lee Canyon, but not the business
That happened just before the turn of the new year — a New Year's miracle, of sorts — and Lee Canyon staff say opening the lift will be a boost to a slim, albeit successful, snow season to this point.
"I'm so excited," said Thomas Esposito, who's a frequent snowboarder at Lee Canyon. "I'm looking forward to trying new tricks."
"Giving people the freedom to ski, and come up and enjoy themselves on more expanded terrain is obviously a big thing for us," Lee Canyon Resort Director Josh Bean said in an interview Wednesday.
Bean said even though it's been a struggle to make snow this winter — temperatures have been warmer than normal, and they've only seen three inches of natural snowfall this season — they've dealt with seasons like this before.
"This is not abnormal," Bean said. "We've seen seasons like this, where we have a drought in the southwest. It's definitely one of those seasons, but in a flip of a switch, it can turn on for us at any time. We just keep those fingers crossed that we're going to get some help from Mother Nature and get a couple good dumps [of snow] in here."
Bean said the resort starts every season with about eight million gallons of water in their reserve ponds that they use to make snow and try to spread that out among their different terrain throughout the winter.
"We try to be smart about it and hit those temperatures when it's nice and cold, so we're not wasting water, seeing as much leeching coming out of the snow," Bean said. "It's really important that we pick and choose those right temperatures."
That's why Resort Services Director Christian Best says they haven't seen a dip in attendance, apparel sales and rentals this season, despite the warm temperatures and lack of natural snowfall.
"Throughout the ski and snowboard season, people know that snow will come," Best said. "Having all the gear up here, we have plenty of people coming in to see what they need to be successful throughout the season — from safety gear to what layers they're wearing — and we do our best to try and get them fitted up here."
Plus, ski aficionados say the spring-like conditions currently on the mountain provide a great opportunity to learn to ski or hone your skills.
WATCH: Learn more about the manmade snow at Lee Canyon
"The snow's great, the temperatures are warm, kids are happy out here, they're not freezing cold, so it's a great time to bring your family up," Bean said.
"As the season goes on we'll get more snow, they'll make more, and there will be so many more things to explore," Esposito said.
For more information about Lee Canyon and to learn how to reserve a lift ticket, visit their website by clicking here.
