Steamboat Resort closes down for the evening on Friday evening. The resort plans to offer expanded terrain this weekend. (Photo by Matt Stensland)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — With an abundance of natural snowfall during the early season, Steamboat Resort will open Sundown, Elkhead and Thunderhead lifts Saturday.

Snowmaking continues, but the resort is still waiting on a little more snow before opening terrain where snowmaking does not occur.

“Hopefully, this weekend’s storm is really good for us, because we’re really just waiting for a little more natural snow,” Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. spokeswoman Loryn Kasten said.

On Friday, the ski area opened Oops and Valley View.

With the additional lifts spinning this weekend, the report will open lower One O’Clock, Two O’Clock, Three O’Clock and Twilight.

“We’ll also have Westside, Rolex, Broadway, Day Break, Upper Vagabond, Lower Why Not and Spur Run,” Kasten said.

Rowel and Huffman’s will not be open.

“As we move into the Sundown area, Rendezvous Lodge is open for water and bathrooms only,” Kasten added.

She said the resort hopes to open Rendezvous completely sometime next week.

To celebrate a great start to the season, Ski Corp. President Rob Perlman was going to give a Champagne toast Friday afternoon on the Steamboat Stage.

According to snowfall records maintained by the resort, the 2018-19 ski season marks the resort’s best start since 2010, when it received 90 inches of snow at midmountain in November.

This November, the resort has received 59 inches of snow at midmountain and 64 inches at the summit with 15 days of snow recorded during the month.

Last year, the resort got a measly 26 inches of snow at midmountain in November.

Meteorologist Matthew Aleksa with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction said a storm, impacting Steamboat through Saturday morning, could leave 5 to 10 inches of snow in the mountains.

“We could see locally heavier amounts at Steamboat Resort,” Aleksa said.

Snow advisories were in place for the mountains.

The National Weather Service was calling for between 2 and 4 inches of snow to fall at lower elevations.

“We’ve been getting some pretty nasty conditions up on the passes,” Aleksa said.

He said the big story with this storm was that temperatures were going to drop Saturday with high temperatures in the 20s.

The weather was expected to dry out Sunday with a chance for some isolated snow showers.

The next storm to hit Steamboat is expected to approach late next week.

The recent snow has kept plow drivers with the city of Steamboat Springs busy.

The city maintains 80 miles of streets, 6 miles of alleys, 37 parking lots, 1,100 fire hydrants and 105 cul-de-sacs and utilizes five graders and four sand trucks to spread 2,800 tons of scoria annually. The snow-plowing equipment is operated by 17 full-time and seasonal employees.

“Our team takes great pride in the job and is committed to managing snow efficiently and safely for our community,” Public Works Director Jon Synder was quoted as saying in a news release. “We’re on the roads once the snow starts falling and work seven days a week, 24 hours a day, often out in ever-changing and challenging conditions.”

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland.