SALT LAKE CITY - Several Utah ski areas reported total snowfall depths for the month of October in excess of 100 inches. Located in
Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta Ski Area led the way with 122 inches of October snow and a settled snow depth of 78 inches.

Other resorts posting snow totals north of 100 inches include the traditional Utah powder factories of Brighton Resort (109),
Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort (115) and Solitude Mountain Resort (104).

Utah's Summit County resorts (Deer Valley Resort, The Canyons Resort, Park City Mountain Resort) all report mid-mountain snow depths
of four feet or more.

Southern Utah's Brian Head Resort boasts snow totals approaching six feet.

"Utah is known the world over as having the Greatest Snow on Earth. Mother Nature has definitely delivered this year," said Ski Utah
president Kip Pitou. "On the heels of last year's all-time record number of visitors, we're off to a very promising start."

Brighton served the opening volley by cranking up their lifts to hungry locals on Oct. 29 - their earliest opening in 21 years.
Powder Mountain plans to open on Nov. 2, with Snowbird bumping up their original opening date by nearly two weeks to Friday, Nov. 5.

Current Utah resort opening dates are as follows:

Brighton Resort OPEN
Powder Mountain Winter Resort Nov. 2 (night skiing only 4p-10p)
Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort Nov. 5
Brian Head Resort Nov. 13
Park City Mountain Resort Nov. 13
Alta Ski Area Nov. 18
The Canyons Resort Nov. 19
Solitude Mountain Resort Nov. 19
Snowbasin Resort Nov. 25
Deer Valley Resort Dec. 4
Sundance Dec. 11
Beaver Mountain no set date

With temperatures diving and more snow on the way, look for other Utah resorts to open their doors earlier than expected. Visit
www.skiutah.com for updated resort openings.

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This story was published on 02 Nov 2004.