BLUE MOUNTAIN SKI AREA -- While many people in the southern part of our viewing area may be a little weary after clearing two feet of snow, ski resorts were thrilled with this snow storm.
It was another perfect storm, so to speak: fresh snow on the slopes, many school districts canceled, and Blue Mountain Ski Area in Carbon County jammed with people.
The wait for winter weather is certainly over at ski areas like Blue Mountain in Carbon County.
Two feet of fresh snow fell there Saturday and thousands of people showed up to take advantage of that.
"Oh, we love the conditions," said Fran Bojazi of Philadelphia. "We couldn't have asked for a better day. It's gorgeous, it's sunshine, we love it!"
"It is crazy up here," said Tricia Matsko of Blue Mountain Ski Area. "This is what we've been waiting for."
This is the first real snow to fall here this season on top of the man-made snow from the past few weeks.
And judging from the lines at the lifts, a lot of skiers and boarders were excited to see the real stuff, a lot of it.
"This is actually busier than it was Martin Luther King Day," Matsko added. "So, yeah, going like gangbusters today!"
"School's out -- to clean out the mess, I think -- so we took the opportunity to come up here," said Stephanie Garcia from Coopersburg.
And that's another big reason for the crowds: schools throughout New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania canceled because of the storm's aftermath. But the roads were good enough for skiers like Garcia to bring her daughter Isabel here.
"I think it's pretty cool and it's my first time doing it!" Isabel exclaimed.
The lines were long, especially for a Monday, but once those in line got up on the slopes, they say the conditions are great.
"It's a little bit of a pain but it's worth the wait. It's awesome," said Nicholas Clemson of Tamaqua.
His crew came from Tamaqua where there was no school.
And Blue Mountain did try to ease the wait in those lines by passing out cookies, and adding two extra hours of ski time to lift tickets.
This, after all, is one place celebrating the blizzard of 2016.
"It's awesome! It's great being out here and not being in school."
The ski resorts were all late to open this year but remind skiers after this snow, there's still a lot of winter to go.