ALTA, Utah — Snow is already falling, lining the slopes of the mountains surrounding Little Cottonwood Canyon, and it's not finished yet.
"Something's going to roll in tonight, Friday, and run through Saturday, maybe Sunday early AM. We might see a foot out of that, and then we'll see something roll in midweek. So, we got three storms on deck that might each deliver, we're hoping, up to a foot of snow," said Lexi Dowdall, the communications manager at Alta Ski Area.
WATCH | Incoming storms expected to bring multiple feet of snow to ski resorts
Dowdall said the storms coming through are especially exciting.
"We don't anticipate any rain with these next three storms which are just going to be awesome in terms of crossing us over the finish line to opening day," said Dowdall.
It's a relief, given how last season went.
"Our typical annual snowfall is about 543 inches, we saw 321 last year," Dowdall said.
The snow is also a relief for other businesses farther down the canyon, which rely on it as much as the resorts do.
"Last year was really tough, traffic was down, tourism was down, it was a really tough winter, said Zac Larsen, the owner of Lifthouse Ski Shop. “Obviously we're all very optimistic in hoping that this Super El Niño really comes through like they're saying and we're staying optimistic.”
Larsen, the owner of Lifthouse Ski Shop, said customers are already getting ready for the season.
"It's picking up, I mean definitely compared to last year sales are a lot better. We're definitely seeing an increase in traffic coming through the door,” said Larsen. “People are definitely more excited to ski than they were feeling last year.”
It's a similar sentiment at Lone Pine Gear Exchange.
"I think you can feel the stoke in the shop, I think people are getting really excited to come out. Definitely the past week or so we've seen an uptick in traffic, I think people are seeing these storms and are getting excited,” said Reece Titus, the head boot fitter at Lone Pine Gear Exchange. “I think people are ready to go skiing,"
Alta Ski Area is among a couple of nearby ski resorts planning to open for the season next week. Alta is planning to open on Nov. 20.