MT. CHARLESTON (KTNV) — The rainy week we've had in the Las Vegas valley has turned Mt. Charleston into a winter wonderland, and dozens of people spent their Thursday at Lee Canyon sledding and building snowmen, trying to take advantage of the gift from Mother Nature.
More than two feet of snow, in fact, has blanketed Mt. Charleston this week, flipping the switch to winter almost overnight!
This latest round of significant snowfall comes after Lee Canyon saw 6 inches of snow in mid-October.
WATCH | Visitors at Mt. Charleston welcome the snow
Fred Dexter makes the drive up to Lee Canyon all the way from Pahrump as often as he can during the winter.
"I'm totally surprised and delighted that this early in November we have snow, man — it's fantastic," Dexter said. "This is one thing I look forward to every year, I grab my skis and I come up here, and put around in the trees and enjoy the beauty in the nature and the solitude."
Whether you're cross country skiing like Dexter, having a snowball fight or seeing snow for the very first time, there's certainly "snow" shortage of smiles.
"I'm just so happy and excited to witness and to touch the snow!" exclaimed Victoria Abarado, who's seeing snow for the first time during her visit to Southern Nevada from the Philippines.
"It's super awesome," said Las Vegas local Kristiana Cacha. "If you want to experience a winter wonderland, this is a good spot."
All of this snow couldn't have come at a more perfect time for Lee Canyon Ski and Snowboard Resort, ahead of their opening day for ski and snowboard season on Friday.
It's a complete 180 from where things stood this time last year — Lee Canyon staff tell Channel 13 that on top of the more than 25 inches of natural snowfall this week, conditions have been perfect for crews to make snow overnight.
That means all ski lifts and more than 80% of the resort's trails will be open come Friday morning, a stark contrast to last year's warm winter, which made making snow a real challenge all season.
"I'm very excited," said Las Vegas local Kaycee Arenas. "I snowboard a lot, so I'll be seeing the ski lifts a lot."
"It's going to be my first time snowboarding tomorrow, actually," said local Thiha Aung. "I just need to buy my tickets, and then it'll be fun after that!"
Lee Canyon staff tell Channel 13 they expect ski season's opening day to be extremely busy on Friday, plus we're expecting more snow overnight Thursday and into Friday morning — if you plan on making the trek up the mountain, you might want to leave a little earlier than you might normally, and be prepared for winter driving conditions.
For information about Lee Canyon Ski and Snowboard Resort and to purchase lift tickets, visit their website by clicking here.
