China Peak just got four feet of new snow, which means an early opening this season

While a winter storm is busy mucking up travel plans this weekend, it’s also dumping snow at China Peak.

That’s good news for skiers and snowboarders.

The mountain resort at Huntington Lake will open Friday for the first time this season, according to a post on its website.

The resort will be open through Sunday. Tickets for this weekend can be purchased only at the resort – not online.

The resort had received four feet of new snow as of Thursday afternoon and “more is on the way,” China Peak posted on its website. It is hoping for another foot by Friday and “another two-three feet by Sunday,” the resort reported.

“This snow is incredibly light, which is a double edge sword - fantastic skiing and riding but not much base in spite of so much snow, so ski and ride with care, always,” the group said. “We’ll also have terrain features on the 400’ beginner slope for this holiday weekend to kick off our new Terrain Park.”

It’s the earliest opening since 2010.

The resort reported one technical issue, its “snow phone” - 559-233-3330 - was experiencing “a power issue” this week and the recording has not been updated recently. The group said it hopes to resolve the issue as early as Friday night.

“It will be updated as soon as we have power to reset the recording option,” they said.

Looking for work?

The resort is hosting its annual job fair 2-7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at Sequoia Brewing Company on Champlain and Perrin avenues in Fresno. It will be hiring lift operators, cashiers, housekeepers and facilities workers for the season.

This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 4:11 PM.