SAM Magazine-Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 7, 2008-The North American ski season has kicked off in earnest, with resorts opening across the continent.

Early openings include Snowbird, which is taking advantage of more than 40 inches of snow this month to chalk up the second earliest opening in the ski area's history to open today. Colorado ski areas are also opening up, with Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain firing up the lifts today, and Wolf Creek opening tomorrow. These resorts join Arapahoe Basin and Loveland to bring the total of Colorado resorts open to six for the season.

In California, Boreal opened yesterday, joining Mammoth. The conditions at Mammoth could be the best in the nation, with up to five feet at the top, allowing the ski area to open the Upper Panorama Gondola to the summit today. Oregon's Timberline is also open, with terrain available Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the Palmer Glacier.

Farther north, in Canada, Mt. Norquay and Lake Louise Ski Area open on Saturday. Norquay's opening is early, with sister Banff resort Sunshine Village scheduled to open one week later, on Nov. 14.

Moving east, areas that opened early are closed and awaiting the return of colder temperatures. Among them: Minnesota's Wild Mountain, North Carolina's Cataloochee, and Killington in Vermont. Most do not expect to operate this coming weekend, but to resume snowmaking over the weekend or early next week. \