There are enormous amounts of snow in the highlands, with five ski resorts opening this week

Huge amounts of snow in the mountains this week portend a great weekend of skiing, with five ski resorts about to open for the season.

Copper Mountain, which has received 28 inches since the storm series began Sunday, Winter Park (16) and Breckenridge (14) will open Friday. Eldora, which also gained 14 inches, opens Thursday. Loveland opens Saturday.

Sixteen ski areas received a foot or more in the past five days, including Wolf Creek with 21 inches and Echo Mountain with 17, according to forecasting and reporting service OpenSnow.

This week’s openings bring the number of ski resorts in operation to eight. Wolf Creek opened on October 22nd. Keystone and Arapahoe Basin opened Saturday.