It’s time to hit the slopes, as the snow finally falls on WNY!

After a slow start to the season, Kissing Bridge is open for business, and the powder is fresh and ready for skiers, snowboarders and tubing enthusiasts.

According to Assistant Marketing Director Rachel Fanelli, the park opened several weeks late this year, finally revving up the chair lifts on Monday, Dec. 26.

“With the warm weather we’ve been having, we weren’t able to make snow until recently. We’re usually open the first couple weeks of December,” Fanelli explained. “This is late for us. We’ve made most of the snow so far. This little dusting we got just makes it look pretty,” she added, gesturing to the snow sparkling in the sun outside her office window.

As of press time, Kissing Bridge’s four central hills were the only ones open.

Fanelli said that the resort depends on the weeks surrounding the Christmas and New Year’s holidays for some of its heaviest traffic of the year.

“This week is really fabulous. People get new equipment for Christmas and want to try it out; families have relatives in from down south that want to try skiing; people come home and want to go. And considering the weather we’re having, it’s been really great,” she added.

When people have looked outside their windows and seen green grass like they did during most of December, Fanelli said they might not have thought Kissing Bridge was open for business. She clarified that, as long as the temperature is low enough and the air is sufficiently dry, the snow-making machines can operate.

“What’s really important is the humidity,” she explained. “You’re basically pushing water into the air, so it’s got to be drier to make snow.” The resort staff members like to make snow just to “establish a good base,” since the chemicals that go into the faux snow concoction and the electricity required to run the machines can get expensive quickly.

In order to make up the cost, Fanelli said the resort depends on the holiday weeks.

Kissing Bridge employs approximately 500 people during the full season, when all the hills are in operation. Fanelli said that, as long as the weather cooperates, the north hills will be open soon, at which time the operation will be running full speed ahead.

Ricky Bueler, train park manager and snowboarding enthusiast, said that he thinks skiing is a “really excellent workout.” He added that it exercises a person’s legs, arms, core, abs and everything in between.

“I work construction in the off-season, and I think I’m in better shape when I’m snowboarding than when I’m loading and cutting timber,” Bueler said.

“In the winter in Buffalo, you’ve got to get out there. Living here, you have to find a way to enjoy this weather. Otherwise, I’d just stay inside and keep warm,” he added, with a laugh. “You don’t even realize you’re getting a workout, since you’re out there having fun, but you really are.”

Skiing is a sport that can appeal to the whole family, Fanelli said, adding that she sees children who are “right out of diapers” hitting the slopes.

“We have programs for children as young as 4, and we offer great first-time packages to get the kids started,” she explained. “It’s great for the whole family, like a really good Pilates workout. It’s great exercise, fresh air and a lot of fun. People don’t realize what we’ve got to offer, right here in our own backyard.”

Kissing Bridge and its partner tubing company, Colden Tubing, can be found online at www.kbski.com and also have a Facebook page. Fanelli recommended checking the website or Facebook for hours, prices and other information.