The ski season's already started for many core riders in Utah. Hiking for face shots has been the activity du jour every weekend this month. Three major storms have set up a sweet base, so it's got people wondering if the ski resorts will open early. The answer's "no" so far. Conditions are ripe for mid-November openings and areas like Park City Mountain Resort have fired up the snowmaking guns. The resort has installed variable frequency drives in the pump stations, which automatically turn on when the temperature reaches 28 degrees or lower. It not only has made snowmaking more efficient than in previous years, but also allows snowmaking to begin the second that the temperature cooperates. Here are the tentative resort openings: Nov. 15 - Alta Nov. 16 - Park City Mountain Nov. 16 - Solitude Nov. 17 - The Canyons Nov. 17 - Snowbird Nov. 22 - Snowbasin Nov. 22 - Wolf Mtn Nov. 22 - Brian Head Dec. 7 - Sundance Dec. 8 - Deer Valley TBA - Brighton (usually opens before everyone else) TBA - Beaver Mountain TBA - Powder Mountain