WILMINGTON, New York — With colder temperatures returning to the Northern Adirondacks this week, snowmakers at Whiteface Mountain, managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), have been putting down the white carpet, thus allowing the resort to open on Friday for skiing and riding.

Snowmaking began Nov. 2 and continued until Nov. 6 when warm weather entered the region and remained for 11 days. Whiteface crews resumed the process on Friday night and have been making snow continuously since then.

“I skied down to mid-station today (Tuesday),” said Assistant Manager Bruce McCulley. “It was fine and we’ll keep making snow to get it better by Friday.”

Whiteface will open with three intermediate trails and two lifts and will ask guests to download at the end of their day.

The Cloudsplitter gondola will bring patrons to the top of Little Whiteface where skiers and boarders can cruise down Excelsior, Summit Express and Upper Valley to mid-station. From there, the Little Whiteface double chair will return visitors to Excelsior.

To end their day, guests will download via the gondola. Pre-season lift ticket prices will be in effect. For more information on the 2006-07 ski and ride season, please log on to www.whiteface.com.