Snowfall resulting from Superstorm Sandy in some parts of the country has been a welcome side effect for ski resorts.

Cataloochee Ski Area, a North Carolina ski resort, opened to the public on Wednesday. It was only the second time in 52 years that the resort opened in October, general manager Chris Bates says. Since Sunday, the resort has gotten 7 inches of snow.

"We've certainly set a record for Halloween," Bates says. "We're one of the fortunate ones that (Sandy) put a positive spin on."

Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia boasted on its website that Sandy had dumped 2 feet of snow on its trails. Although the resort was still dealing with power outages, spokesman David Dekema says it is on track to opening before Thanksgiving. "This is certainly a good start," he says.

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Heavy, wet snow has been falling for two days in the highest elevations of the Appalachian Mountains, with the biggest totals in West Virginia and far western Maryland. Resort operators say they are optimistic that this year will be a big improvement over last, when they recorded their lowest average snowfall in 20 years.

National average snowfall for the 2011-12 season plunged by 41 percent from the prior season. The Southeast was particularly hard hit, with a 57 percent drop in snowfall.

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It is too soon to tell how this season will fare, says Troy Hawks, a spokesman for the National Ski Areas Association. Some areas got early snowfall last year but it didn't stay cold enough for the snow to stick, he says.

Still, he says, the early snowfall is good news to a lot of skiers. "Certainly, we're sensing some pent-up demand," he says.

Brad Moretz, general manager of Appalachian Ski Mountain, says the resort has gotten 3 to 4 inches of snow in recent days and plans to open a week before Thanksgiving.

"It's spurring a lot of interest and thought about skiing which is a good thing," he says.

Christos Christoudias, president and founder of SkiReports.com, says many resorts are still in no rush to open this week.

Some are dealing with power outages from the storm. Others have extra snow but still need to make more to cover all of their trails. Typically, ski resorts try to open in time for Thanksgiving.

But, he says, "when they do open, they're going to have a lot more coverage than they normally do."

The resorts should know by New Year's whether they'll be able to erase the memories of last year's dismal season. "It's tough to tell this early on," he says.

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