The most significant storm of the season, coupled with a long weekend, led to a swell in attendance at several local ski resorts.

A combination of blustery conditions worked well in tandem with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to help boost crowds over the three-day weekend.

It was an extremely busy time at Blue Mountain Resort in Palmerton, according to Ashley Seier, director of marketing.

“This has been a very busy weekend,” Seier said. “The weekend of Martin Luther King Jr Day is typically always one of the most attended weekends.”

Seier noted the Resort received 6.5 inches of snow from Sunday’s storm, which led to a great turnout at the Resort on Monday.

“The added snow in the forecast brought even more skiers and riders out,” she said. “This morning we saw a crowd of enthusiasts lined up waiting for the mountain to open at 8 a.m. to get first-tracks in the powder,” she said.

Christmas week, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, and Presidents Day weekend are the big weekends for the ski resorts.

All told, Seier said the winter has been really good to the resort to date.

“As of Jan. 11, the mountain is now fully open with all 40 trails available to ski or snowboard,” she said. “The weather has been fantastic for snow-making.”

However, Seier said she anticipates a slight decrease in attendance as the weather turns even colder yet.

“The next few days we are expecting a lighter attendance with the blustery conditions,” she said. “Skiers and Snowboarder attending this week should layer up and take extra precautions to prevent frost bite.”

Success has indeed been the mantra as well at Jack Frost Big Boulder in Kidder Township, according to Tony Santora, general manager.

“On the weekend, a lot of people like to come up to the Poconos, get some skiing in,” Santora said. “I think the cold weather and snow in larger cities definitely drove people up here; we had a great weekend.

“It always helps when you get a little bit of snow right before the weekend and (Monday) night’s dump really helped us out. The conditions have been great all weekend long. Today (Monday) conditions are awesome.”

Santora said that despite the extremely cold conditions, Jack Frost Big Boulder will remain open.

“The conditions will be great, we will be ready for anyone who does want to come out and brave the cold; we have our lodges to warm up, a lot of people come out for a couple runs, come in and go back out for a couple more runs,” he said. “We’re ready to give that experience to anybody who wants to come and see it.”

Santora noted it’s been quite a while since ski areas have had these temperatures to work with.

“The amount of snow we’ve been able to make at both (Jack Frost, Big Boulder) has been great,” he said. “We have 100 percent of our terrain open, that part of the product we’ve been able to put out is exceptional.

“We’ll keep that good snow out on the hill. I think it’s going to shape up to be a fantastic winter.”

Santora said they will host Winter Fest at Boulder starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, complete with a DJ, a Grom Prom (Rail Jam for younger kids), torch light parade at 6:45 p.m., and fireworks at 7 p.m.

The extended weekended boded well for Camelback Resort in Tannersville as well, which held Boarding for Breast Cancer over the weekend that was a huge success. In addition, Summit House just opened and has been a big hit with its events.

Theresa Lutz, vice president of marketing, said that with perfect conditions and snow both Saturday and Sunday, it made for a great weekend.

“It played a big part into our successes over the weekend, with the resort sold out all weekend long,” Lutz said. “With it being a long weekend, there were programmed activities every day through Monday for our guests to enjoy.”

Lutz said the recent cold temperatures have been beneficial for Camelback Mountain Resort, allowing for consistent snow-making and maintaining a solid snow base, with 25 trails open and six lifts operating.

With even more brisk and bitterly cold conditions to come, Lutz noted that cold conditions are favorable for maintaining the quality of the slopes.

However, guests should be prepared for the low temperatures and dress appropriately to ensure a comfortable experience.

“It’s also advisable to check the resort’s official snow report for the latest updates on trail and lift statuses, as operations may be affected by weather conditions,” she said. “Our trail count will continue to grow through the week with an anticipated increase to 30+ trails for the weekend.”