The wait for ski season in Incline Village is finally over with Diamond Peak Ski Resort spinning its first lifts on Thursday, Dec. 14, marking the start to the 2017-18 season.

The resort is offering top-to-bottom skiing on opening day with lifts running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to a statement from the mountain, and has added several upgrades to improve the skiing and riding experience this season, including new Snow Surfaces staff members, a new terrain park, on mountain tours, and added perks for season pass holders.

“We’ve got great conditions up top,” said Paul Raymore, Marketing Manager. “The snow is great, there’s great coverage, nice wide trail all the way from the top of the mountain down to the bottom.”

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Opening day plans call for skiing and snowboarding on Crystal Ridge, Sunnyside, Lodgepole, Schoolhouse and in the Child Ski Center’s designated learning area, according to information from Diamond Peak’s mountain operations teams, with the potential for Ridge Run and Popular to open if conditions permit. Diamond Peak has been running its snowmaking operations nonstop since Saturday, Dec. 9, according to the resort, with groomers busy pushing the piles of snow onto runs in anticipation of opening day. The resort reported a base of 30 inches, and has received 32 inches of snow for the season as of Wednesday, Dec. 13. Diamond Peak opened on Dec. 15 last season.

Helping to get the mountain ready for the season’s first turns have been five snow cats, including the resort’s new PistenBully 400 ParkPro 4f grooming machine.

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“The ParkPro is a machine that was designed around the needs of terrain parks, but its enhanced features and ergonomics make every task on the mountain easier,” said Mountain Operations Manager Jay Rydd in a statement. “Diamond Peak already had one ParkPro, so adding a second one just multiplies what we are able to do every night.”

Guests at Diamond Peak will be able to ride a new terrain park this year, as the small to mid-sized progression park on Popular has been move to Lakeview to create the new Lakeview Terrain Park. Since Lakeview isn’t open as of yet, the resort said it will have four terrain park features set up on Crystal Ridge for opening day.

“We don’t normally put them up on Crystal (Ridge), but because Lakeview is not yet open, our terrain park team decided to throw four features up in a special location — beautiful lake views and four really fun features,” said Raymore.

For those just starting out on skis or a snowboard, the resort has long been one of the best places in the area to learn to ride. The resort’s Child Ski Center offers a dedicated magic carpet lift and private learning area only accessible to children in the program. This offseason, Diamond Peak’s lift maintenance staff realigned the magic carpet lift, allowing for increased capacity and an easier time for children getting on and off the lift. There is also now more space on either side for children to practice their first turns.

“The new layout will give us more room on each side to accommodate more beginner-level lessons,” said James Pedersen, Child Ski Center Manager, in a statement. “And will also give our students a better view of what they are going to learn and play on before they walk out onto the snow.”

Following Diamond Peak’s opening on Thursday, the resort will throw a free Kickoff Party & Passholder Appreciation event at the Diamond Peak Base Lodge on Friday, Dec. 15 at 4:30 p.m. with food and live music by The Sextones.