Skiers and snowboarders can hit the slopes early, with Arizona Snowbowl opening on Friday.

Arizona Snowbowl Marketing Manager Angie Grubb says it’s the earliest in the park’s history and follows the latest day they closed this past June.

“This is Snowbowl’s 86th year of operation and this is our earliest opening day ever for the winter season,” Grubb said.

Snowbowl will open its doors and start its lift two weeks before the original opening day.

Grubb said the foot of snow overnight is a bonus, but cold temperatures the past few weeks made all the difference.

“We have made snow any opportunity that we possibly could have,” she said. “So our teams have been working around the clock. The snow making machines are all running right behind me right now. Ultimately we would have been ready to open even without this snowfall.”

One lift will be open to access five trails, including the Spur Catwalk, Lower Bowl, Log Jam, Wild Turkey, and Round Up trails. Most of these are advanced, so beginners beware.

Snowbowl’s return also means local Flagstaff ski shops will be opening their doors early.

Matt Schmidgall, owner of Ski Haus, said they also learned about the early opening on Wednesday.

“No matter what we were setting up the shop so we were going to be here doing what we’re doing anyway,” Schmidgall said. “We just kind of shifted gears to one a faster speed and two just kind of what our plan of attack is going to be.”

While their opening is sooner than originally planned, it’s great for local seasonal businesses.

“We’re here for Snowbowl being open,” Schmidgall said. “We’re a ski and snowboard shop. You know the more snow that we get the better it helps everybody.”

The lift officially opens at 9 a.m. Friday, and lift tickets start at $19.

Grubb said with all the fresh powder, it’s expected to be a great opening day.

“I’m sure lots of people will be showing up early for first chair,” Grubb said. “We’re going to have free hot coffee free donuts free hot coco.”