Runs began at 9 Monday morning. Big Tupper administrative manager Don Dew says there was a lot open. "We’ve got 7 trails, 2 lifts, and access to all levels of terrain, so we’ve got a little bit for everybody." 

With 8-12 inches of variable packed powder, Dew says conditions weren’t ideal today. But after such a long wait he and his colleagues were eager to get the season started.

"Our snow conditions are pretty good for what we have. It’s all natural snow. Certainly we’d like to have more, but to get it going today we felt let’s get it going let’s get some trails open let’s get people back up here," Dew said.

This will be the third season the ski area will be run mostly by volunteers, with only natural snow. After today, managers plan to open the ski area from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays through April 1.