Snow sport enthusiasts don’t judge winter’s arrival by a calendar.

For them, the season arrives the first time they can strap on a pair of skis or bring the snowboard out of summer retirement.Over 4,000 people scratched the itch to hit the slopes this weekend at Blue Mountain as the Palmerton area resort celebrated its earliest opening in 38 years.One of only two Pennsylvania mountains open on Saturday and Sunday, Blue Mountain capitalized on lower than average temperatures and state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment to make an early start date a reality.Over the last seven days, temperatures have dropped as low as 15 degrees locally, according to the National Weather Service.“We started making snow last Thursday,” said Morgan Bell, Blue Mountain marketing specialist, on Sunday. “Over half of our mountain has automated snowmaking. We’ve been getting an incredible response over the weekend. Saturday was a really great day for us. Guests are really pleased with the condition of the mountain.”One of those guests was Nick Balsamo, a Richmond, Va. native who recently moved to Philadelphia.As a Florida State University graduate, Balsamo didn’t see much snow during his college years.“I did some snowboarding in high school, but I haven’t been doing this for a very long time,” he said. “With it being so cold the last couple of weeks, I’ve been excited to get out. For what the mountain is right now, I think it’s in great shape. I’m really glad they have been able to open so early.”For more on opening weekend, read the print edition of the Times News.