A lack of heavy snowfall may have sent Casper's ski season off to a slow start, but staff and the snow-making machines are hard at work trying to cover the slopes with man-made snow.

"Our goal is to make snow, as much as possible, as fast as possible so we can open as many runs as soon as possible," said Gary Vantrease, manager for the Hogadon Ski Area on Casper Mountain.

Vantrease said Hogadon is scheduled to open Saturday.

Vantrease said the mountain got 17 inches in early October and things looked pretty good, but it warmed up. The ski area had to postpone the season's planned opening on Nov. 24 because of continued warm weather.

Luckily, Casper saw a drop in temperatures Tuesday night, and even though the mountain only received an inch or two of snow, it was cold enough to fire up the city's seven snow-making machines, he said.

"Anything below 15 degrees is good," Vantrease said Wednesday. "The colder it gets, the better it is. Zero or colder is ideal to maximize the effectiveness of the snow gun. Last night was way below zero and we were really making some snow."

He said the machines shoot icy water into the air to form snow and collect it into piles before it is spread out on the trails.

The ski area recently reshaped the trails to make them smoother and more efficient, so skiers can comfortably enjoy skiing on only a few inches of snow.

"Skiers should remember to stay on the man-made trails," he said. "If you get off the trails, the snow is pretty thin and you can end up damaging your equipment."

Vantrease said the ski area still relies on natural snowfall to cover most of the trails. Natural snowfall on Casper Mountain has decreased for most years of the last decade, he said.

While the snow machines can cover Morning Dew and Park Avenue trails, the other trails will stay closed until there is enough snow. He said the crew will begin focusing on Boomerang and Dreadnaught ski trails as weather and water resources permit.

Snow-making takes hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and the crew has to wait for their water reservoir to recharge before continuing the process.

"We're making it just as fast as we can," Vantrease said.

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The Hogadon Ski Area will open Saturday at 9 a.m. Passes for a full or half day are $18 and can be purchased at the ticket window at the site. Discounted season ticket passes can be purchased until Sunday at $119 for a first-time pass holder and $160 for a buddy. After Sunday, the prices raise to the normal level of $375 for an adult, $300 for juniors ages 5 to 18 and $700 for a family of four.

Season tickets can be purchased at the Casper Recreation Center.

Hogadon Ski Area

* Location: 11 miles south of Casper on Casper Mountain

* Hill Information: Three lifts, terrain park and 21 trails; vertical drop, 600 feet

* Opening Day: Saturday

* Operating Days: Wednesday through Sunday and holidays, except Christmas Day

* Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

* Information: (307) 235-8499

* On the Net: www.hogadon.net

Reporter John Morgan can be reached at (307) 266-0614 or john.morgan@casperstartribune.net.