LOVELAND - Hundreds of skiers and snowboards stood in line Friday for their first tracks of the season at Loveland Ski Area - the first to open in North America for the 2004-2005 season.

Those in the queue dropped powdered sugar on their ski coats as they munched free donuts from Krispy Kreme, courtesy of ski area operators.

Resort officials reported at day's end that Loveland surpassed its previous opening day record by more than 50 percent.

Once loading chairlift No. 1, skiers and riders had an 18-to-24-inch base of manmade and fresh snow to carve on three runs that joined to form one top-to-bottom run.

"Part of it is being on the Continental Divide - at our elevation we get cooler temperatures and that lets us make more snow," ski area marketing manager Ainsley Kasten said. "But our secret weapon is the Kiwis we bring in."

A crew of men from New Zealand was hired to help Loveland get open early this year. It was the fifth season the area opened first in North America and the fifth the same snowmaking crew worked there.

On Wednesday, 12 inches of snow fell on the resort's base and an estimated 18 inches fell at the top of the mountain, helping area operators to open Friday.

"The weather has made for some really nice conditions," said Aaron Peyrouse, a seven-year patroller from Golden.

Dillon resident Lou Laurina took the day off work to ride at Loveland Friday. He wasn't disappointed by the conditions.

"It's sugary and there's a lot of fresh snow," he said after taking one run. "There's powder on the side that you can blast through."

Loveland is about 20 minutes from Summit County on the east side of Eisenhower Tunnel.

Ski patrol had a crew of eight working by Monday who rode snowmobiles around the mountain setting ropes and getting the area ready for opening day.

It had not snowed at Loveland for a few days, but temperatures were cool enough to continuously make snow, said Kasten.

Kasten said nearly four feet of snow fell on the slopes at Loveland since Labor Day.

The ski area was competing with nearby Arapahoe Basin to be first to open for the season. Silverton Ski Area in southern Colorado ran its lifts for skiers in September, but then shut the operation down and expects to open for the season by Thanksgiving.

Loveland Ski Area opened first for the season 17 times in the last 23 years.

The area will be open today and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and at 9 a.m. on weekdays. Tickets are $34 for adults and $16 for children.



Kim Marquis can be contacted at (970) 668-3998, ext. 249, or at kmarquis@summitdaily.com.