Yet just three weeks from Christmas Eve, the ski lifts were still closed and the resort was largely empty — aside from a handful of construction workers and resort employees — because Mother Nature hasn’t done its part.

According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the snowpack at Timpanogos Divide on the Alpine Loop north of Sundance was at just 12% of its median level for Dec. 3. NRCS Data Collection Officer Jordan Clayton said the water equivalent at the site is 0.4 inches, and the Dec. 3 average is 3.2 inches.

“Almost three inches behind where we want to be,” Clayton said.

Sundance has targeted Friday as its official start date at Jake’s Lift at Mountain Camp. However, Sundance marketing director Nick Como said the resort needs another round of snowmaking Wednesday night to “know where we stand” before sharing an update Thursday morning on the opening-day plan.

Sundance isn’t the only resort that hasn’t opened. Alta, Snowbird, Park City and Deer Valley resorts, to name a few, are also still closed and targeting the Friday start date.

The ski resorts in Big Cottonwood Canyon — Brighton and Solitude — have opened but have snowpacks of just 10 inches and 12 inches, respectively.

The lack of snow is frustrating for two friends, Nolan Kramer and Joseph Swope, who moved to Provo this year largely to enjoy the snowboarding season at Sundance but are still waiting to get on the mountain.

Kramer, who is from Mesa, Arizona, said snowboarding is tough to access in his hometown because the closest resort is two hours away — and yet it’s currently the better option.

“Snowbowl in Arizona opened up, like, two weeks ago, and they have like 52 inches of snow, and it’s Arizona,” he said. “So it’s kind of weird that Utah doesn’t have any snow right now, because Utah resorts are known to be the best in the states.”

Swope, who is from Fort Collins, Colorado, said he thinks the winters are starting later but also ending later. He wants to get on the mountain but doesn’t want Sundance to rush the start date if there isn’t enough snow.

“I wouldn’t really hate it if they push it back,” Swope said. “Like, if they do, it’s kind of just whatever, because we don’t really want to go anyway.”

Clayton said there is some optimism that Northern Utah storms this weekend will improve the snowpack and that two or three good storm cycles would put the snowpack back on average.

However, he said, based on forecasts he’s heard elsewhere, after this weekend, the weather may dry out for a bit before storm activity returns closer to Christmas.

“We’re in the business of providing water supply forecasts, and that’s our mission. But we know that people care about snow for more than just, you know, what our water supply is. People recreate there, and that’s pretty important. … And so, yeah, the resorts are having a really rough start to their year,” Clayton said. 

Sundance skiers and snowboarders will have something to look forward to if the winter weather picks up, though.

Once snow allows, Como said, Sundance will open its new back-mountain run, Storyteller, which is an 1,800-vertical-foot groomed “double-blue” run.

He added that the nearly completed Inn at Sundance Resort is now taking reservations for stays beginning Jan. 22.