Winter Park Resort opened for the 2020-21 ski and snowboarding season Thursday morning in what has been a late start to the season statewide.

The Grand County resort announced its intention to open last week as natural snowfall and snowmaking efforts had finally accumulated enough to allow for riders.

Dry weather and wildfires slowed snowmaking efforts at many big-name resorts this year, including Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski areas.

Wolf Creek Ski Area was the first in the state to open for the season on Oct. 28. This was the latest statewide opening day since Loveland kicked off the 2015 season on Oct. 29.

Winter Park staff members Alex Kudron and Lennon Sarfati kicked off the resort’s season at 9 a.m. with the official first chair.

Officials said weather and social distancing efforts were perfect Thursday, making for a successful opening day.

In November, Winter Park Resort released “Shred Another Day” COVID-19 guidelines outlining resort etiquette, including mandatory mask use and social distancing between groups.

Winter Park Resort sets tentative opening date for 2020-2021 winter season

The guidelines also recommended visitors avoid going to the resort on peak days like Saturdays and the week after Christmas to keep crowd sizes down.

“The focus will be all about the skiing and riding experience itself and tapping into the real and unvarnished Colorado mountain culture,” said Liz Agostin with Winter Park Resort in an earlier news release.

Ski season arrives in Colorado: Wolf Creek Ski Area celebrates opening day

“At the end of the day, we all just want to keep carving down the mountain and finding joy in the outdoors.”