PHOTOS: Avid skiers, boarders get in first runs of the year at Alyeska

Updated: June 28, 2016 Published: November 28, 2013

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Alyeska Resort opened a day early for season pass holders, who were treated to short lift lines and untrammeled fresh snow. Nov 27, 2013

Light snow fluttered down Wednesday morning as Alaska's 2013-14 ski season kicked into high gear and lifts at the 49th state's biggest ski resort opened to the public for the first time.

Portions of the public, at least. Wednesday's opening was for season pass holders, and Amy Quesenberry of Alyeska Resort said 597 skiers and snowboarders took advantage -- about double last year's turnout. A season pass ranges from $1,125 to $1,375 for the average customer, with cheaper rates available for children and folks older than 70.

Riders weren't overwhelmed with snow. Only 13 inches had piled up at the bottom of the mountain, with 30 inches up top. That limited Wednesday's opening to Chair 4 (Ted's Express) and Chair 3 (the Bear Cub Quad). A heavy dose of snowmaking, however, meant "conditions were surprisingly good up there," according to Quesenberry.

"If you're not first, you're last," noted six-year season pass holder Rob Luxford, a cook at Girdwood's Chair 5 Restaurant. "I never miss the first day, and I always try to make first chair."

Those chairs should be running every day, weather permitting, until April or, perhaps, May.

Powder-hungry skiers and boarders began lining up more than an hour before the 11 a.m. start Wednesday morning. Thirty people were in line at Chair 4 by 10:30 a.m.

"I'm trying to get first tracks," said Sterling Burnett, a tram operator at Alyeska. "I haven't snowboarded since July, when I was in Colorado."

Snow was scarce at the beginning of last season, too, but Alyeska ended up with 726 inches at the top of the mountain -- exceeding the 34-year average winter snowfall of 650 inches. Still, that was short of what Quesenberry called "the epic 2011/12 ski season," when 978 inches accumulated.