CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Two feet of natural snow, along with a revamped snowmaking system, has benefited skiers and snowboarders at Sugarloaf as the resort opened the mountain’s summit to guests on Friday.

Resort officials say that the conditions provide some of the best early-season skiing in Sugarloaf history.

According to a Sugarloaf press release, skiers and riders will be able to reach the 4,237-foot summit and access more than 70 trails this weekend.

In addition, a full-size terrain park in the Stomping Grounds is open, and the resort planned to open terrain in its eastern bowl in time for the weekend.

According to Sugarloaf’s Web site on Friday, five lifts were providing access to 76 trails on a base of 18 to 41 inches of snow.

“We’ve been extremely blessed with great early-season snowfall, and the offseason upgrades we made to our snowmaking system have allowed us to be more aggressive during the early stages of the season,” Rich Wilkinson, Sugarloaf’s vice president of operations, said in the release. “All of the factors combined have enabled us to expand our terrain faster than we ever have before.”

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