Skiing enthusiasts rejoice!

Much to their delight, several area ski resorts will be up and running this weekend.

Big Boulder Ski Area in Blakeslee opened this past weekend, according to Heather Schiffbauer, director of marketing.

“We had two slopes open last weekend,” Schiffbauer said. “We’re continuing to make snow this week and reopen Friday through Sunday.”

Schiffbauer said they plan to expand the terrain.

“It’s supposed to be very cold,” she said. “They’ll be able to get more terrain open by Friday.”

Schiffbauer said they planned to do snow making tonight (Tuesday night).

“It’s always exciting to get open; last weekend was a really early opening,” she said. “We always shoot for this week; (but) with snowstorm coming in, we had started making snow, it all just worked out perfectly.”

Blue Mountain Resort plans to open up on Black Friday, according to Tricia Matsko, director of sales and marketing.

Matsko said Blue planned to fire up the snow guns tonight (Tuesday night), and is prepared to open for the 2018-2019 winter season on Black Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“Cooler temperatures and lower humidity are providing a big window of opportunity to build a base on most trails,” Matsko said. “The snow guns dust the trails overnight into the early morning hours, depending on the weather.”

Matsko added, “This exciting event gets the resort one step closer to opening their doors for a fun winter season.”

She said snow-making crews aim to open the Easy Out, Vista Trail and Come Around trails, along with the Vista Lift, on Friday.

Matsko said Blue will also host the West End Food Pantry for its Annual Santa Event from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

Come meet Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph the Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and the Grinch as they usher in the holiday season. The cast of characters will make their arrival via the ski chair lift.

The base area at Blue Mountain Resort will turn into a fun, free festival for families who qualify for food bank services.

There will be games and a train ride, plus free hot dogs, Christmas cookies, popcorn and hot chocolate while supplies last. There will also be fire pits for roasting s’mores.

Mountain Employees are also assembling Holiday Hope Chests for children with the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley who may not get any other Christmas gifts. They are filling shoe boxes with items to brighten children of all ages from 2-17 years old. The mountain plans to deliver the wrapped shoe boxes next week.

Blue Mountain Resort is also collecting toys for the Toys for Tots program with the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

They are collecting unwrapped toys for children of all ages in conjunction with their Ugly Sweater Party at Slopeside Pub & Grill Dec. 8, and again on Dec. 9 at their Gingerbread Workshop.

The Marines will then distribute toys to children whose parents can’t afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.