TRUCKEE, CA - It's only October, and the Sierra Ski Resorts see this early snow as a sign of good season ahead.
"It does get a lot of people excited," Boreal Mountain Resort spokesperson Jon Slaugther said. "The earlier we get the snow the more excited people get. They start buying ski gear. They start buying passes."
In fact, Boreal had their grooming machines going Tuesday gearing up for what might be Opening Day by the end of the week.
"We are setting our target on Friday," Slaugther said. "It's a little too early to tell, but we're going to try our best to open."
Boreal opened Woodward Tahoe this summer, a place where people can get their fix of extreme sports. It includes some runs that mimic slopes.
Snowboarder Chris St. Martin saw the snow outside and thought this was a great opportunity to brush up on snowboarding without getting hurt.
"Especially, if you're trying to learn new tricks," St. Martin said. "If you're going into a foam pit, less consequences. If you're trying something new on the hill, it's totally different. You get hurt!"
There's the danger, though, of another season like last year when snow storms also blanketed the Sierra in October, then it remained balmy through the holidays.
Tahoe-area businesses hope to make up for lost revenue; already, shovels, heaters and ice melters were selling big.
"We're looking forward to a better season this year," ACE Hardware Manager Steve Stevenson said. "The early snow is going to be helpful. If it keeps up, we'll be able to make up some ground that we didn't have last year at this time."
Seventh grader Gary Grosjean was hoping for summer to last a little longer, but he got a snow day of this first storm.
"They basically call you at 6:00 in the morning and say you don't have to go to school," Grosjean said.
By Nannette Miranda, ABC7
ABC7/KGO