So much snow has fallen the past few days that the Little Cottonwood Canyon resort moved up its opening date almost two weeks, announcing Wednesday it will operate the Tram and two lifts, Gadzoom and Mid-Gad, starting at 9 a.m. Friday.

That will be the second-earliest opening in the resort's 38-year history. Early season lift tickets will cost $62 a day.

And not just for Snowbird, but for all of the state's resorts, said Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. He noted that several national news outlets showed interest Wednesday in still photographs and video showing fresh snow falling all around skiers in business suits wearing Barack Obama and John McCain masks.

"It's really important for us, at this time of year, to get these images out," Rafferty said, citing the value of e-mail and Web sites in instantaneously distributing photographs around the world. "That way people know right away that we have snow. That gets people excited to pick up their phones and to call resorts to book their vacations."

In today's troubled economy, ski resorts across the country are vying for what could be a more-limited market. So far this fall, natural storms and snowmaking already have resulted in the opening of four Colorado resorts, several ski areas in the Northeast and Mammoth Mountain in California.

To compete, it is vital to show that Utah has snow, too.

"Studies have shown that snow trumps a bad economy," Rafferty said. "Every time [researchers] looked at a bear market, in years there was good snow, it mitigated the impact."

Rafferty said several other Utah resorts are tracking forecasts and thinking about following Snowbird's lead (many are set to open the weekend before Thanksgiving, although Solitude has scheduled a Nov. 14 debut).

mikeg@sltrib.com