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This year's white Christmas was good news for Utah's ski resorts, which opened additional lifts after the state was hit with fresh snow.
Resort officials say light snowfall in December postponed the opening of some runs. But many resorts are optimistic that this week's storm puts the state on track for a successful ski season.
"With these last couple of storms, it has made a big difference for us and helped us to get up and going," Brighton Ski Resort spokesman Jared Winkler said.
Brighton was operating all of its lifts on Friday and roughly 75 percent of its skiable terrain was open to guests, Winkler said.
The resort received 17 inches of new snow during the Christmas storm and Winkler said that snowfall, combined with the resort's base snowpack, puts Brighton on good footing heading into January.
"It's been good and now it's just going to guarantee that there's going to be snow," he said.
The last week saw an additional 22 inches of snow fall at Canyons Resort, spokeswoman Caitlin Martz said, including 10 inches since Wednesday. The resort is now operating 13 of its ski 20 lifts and 72 trails, Martz said.
Park City Mountain Resort was running 11 of its 16 lifts, up from seven lifts on Sunday, spokesman Andy Miller said Friday. A 12th lift was scheduled to begin operation on Saturday. "The snow has benefited us really well," he said.
Miller said lifts have opened on a slower schedule than past years. But he added that December is often an unpredictable month for snowfall.
"It can go either way," he said. "We were dry for an extended period in December last year."
Snowbird Ski Resort began operating its Mineral Basin lift on Thursday, leaving only one of its 11 lifts — Baby Thunder — still closed, spokesman Brian Brown said.
He said that even with the comparatively low snowfall in December this year, early season traffic at the resort has been positive.
"The lifts have opened later than they have traditionally, but it is not affecting our business," he said. "We're seeing great crowds."
This week's storm brought Snowbird's snow totals near the average for this time of year, Brown said.
"It's probably the best situation we could have with the snow totals we've had to date," he said. "It's going to shape up to be a pretty awesome season."
Alta Ski Resort is operating all of its lifts but the Devil's Castle area remains closed, spokeswoman Connie Marshall said.
Alta was hit with roughly 20 inches of snow between Wednesday night and Friday morning, she said, which puts the resort on track for previous years.
"We definitely were a little disappointed after the initial snow," she said. "It was slower and coming piece by piece."
She said holiday business has been good, but she added that many locals have likely assumed there's no snow at the resorts based on the bare hillsides in the valleys.
"There is snow on the mountains and we have a 72-inch base now," she said. "It's definitely good skiing."