For several weeks in November, Casper Mountain is his.

As Casperites come home from work, turn on their lights and crank up their furnaces, Bob Shellard fires up a Snow Cat's engines, clips on his Carhartt overalls and prepares for a night's work.

He climbs into the Snow Cat's driver's seat every night and begins the dark and bumpy ride down the Park ski slope at Hogadon Ski Area.

The mountain is quiet and still. A glow from the groomer's headlights illuminates a path down the slope and the city lights flicker in the distance.

As the snow-grooming supervisor, Shellard is more than a groomer, and when you buy your pass to ski on Saturday, it is him you have to thank.

He operates the snow-making guns - yellow cannon-like machines designed to suck water up and shoot it out into the frigid Wyoming air.

"After I adjust everything and turn the gun on, I have to stand underneath the plume to make sure I'm not getting rained on," Shellard said, smiling. This night work is his second job, much more a labor of love than one of economic necessity.

Hogadon is scheduled to open on Saturday, one week past the original opening date, but on par with normal years.

Ski area Manager Gary Vantrease said the area opened the day after Thanksgiving only four times in the last ten years.

"It tends to be less and less as the years pass and the snow doesn't come," Vantrease said.

Fortunately, the area can use man-made snow. In less than two weeks Shellard and his crew converted nearly two million gallons of water into white powder.

"I can't tell you the last time we opened with natural snow," Shellard said.

It's Shellard's job to make sure the six snow guns are operating properly and to spread out the whale-like piles of snow into a smooth, foot-thick ski run.

"Windy nights like this are harder," Shellard said, pointing his spotlight Wednesday night toward an artificial snow storm. "I have to check the guns every half an hour or so. The snow gets blown into the trees or back on the gun, and then we have to come down here and dig the gun out before starting again."

On bad nights, he and another employee have to drag the frozen snow-covered gun back up to a heated maintenance shed and work to chip away the ice build-up.

The Thanksgiving cold front allowed Shellard to begin making snow, and he's been working overtime to get the run smooth and ready for skiers from Casper and points beyond the giant mountain.

Mountain Sports employee Mike Lichtenechker said skiers in the community - himself included - have been anxious for the area to open, but understand they can only ski as weather permits.

"Everybody is being pretty patient," Lichtenechker said hurriedly with waiting customers in the background. "But I am definitely excited."

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com