SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. — Mate Forgacs and Cody Sobel are high school buddies from New Jersey, together again to enjoy the season's first days of skiing.
"We planned this for a couple of weeks now, and I was disappointed that we might not have the chance to ski,” Mate Forgacs said.
This ski season's weather has so far been unseasonable – which had the friends sweating their plans.
"I was worried that we were going to get here, and it would be swimming lessons, instead of skiing lessons, to be honest with you,” Cody Sobel said.
“I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to do it this weekend,” Forgacs said.
But it was, by definition, freezing on Sunday at Elk Mountain in Susquehanna County – after only just opening Friday to much warmer weather. And staffers welcomed the snow coming down.
"We opened Friday, it was warm, and then Saturday was warm and rainy, but the cold temperatures have returned, we've resumed snowmaking, and we're working toward opening additional terrain,” Bob DeLuca, who’s in marketing and group sales for Elk Mountain Ski Resort, said.
Even despite the warmer weekend's start, DeLuca says staffers were able to keep at least a few slopes open by planning ahead.
"We made snow before it got warm, we left it in big piles, and then when we got ready to open, we groomed it out,” he said.
Then finally, on the last day of the mountain's first ski weekend, the weather cooled down.
"It turned cold overnight,” DeLuca said, “So we were able to make snow. It's nice to see some natural snow."
"We are freezing right now. We're excited to get on the slopes,” Dave Frank, a skier from Flourtown, said.
"I'm super excited,” Dave’s 10-year-old son, Jack, added.
Though skiers say, the weather's made for some dicier conditions going down.
"Conditions could be better, but it's still a really good time,” John Orgera, visiting from Queens, N.Y., said. “They've been making snow, so no worries. Got a few trails to run down and get some laps in."
High school buddies Mate Forgacs and Cody Sobel say they finally chilled out – when the weather did.
"The bunny hill is actually pretty icy, but going up the mountain is actually far more comfortable,” Forgacs said. “The snow that they're generating has been doing a pretty good job all around."
"I have a lot of mass on me, so the icy conditions definitely gets me going a lot faster,” Sobel added. “Which is a lot of fun when I'm barreling down the mountain."
At this time, staffers say five slopes are open at Elk Mountain. They hope within a few days to open some more, depending on the weather.
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