It was still dark when the lineup began to form outside the ski chalet at Mount Sima this morning.

Downhill skiers and snowboarders began to form in the ticket line already at 8:45 a.m., desk services manager Will O’Brien confirmed with the Star today.

The Whitehorse ski hill officially opened for the winter season at 10 a.m. this morning.

Boosted by a pair of school groups, today’s numbers were estimated to be around 200 people.

“It’s bustling today,” O’Brien said. “It was a busy morning. It was crazy. People were pretty keen to get out and hit the slopes.”

The temperature at the hill hovered at -12 C this morning, and snow levels were good thanks to two weeks of artificial snow-making by Sima staff.

“We’re looking good on all the runs where we made snow,” said Sam Oettli, Sima’s outdoor operations manager. “We have a lot of people up here that are definitely missing work or school. It’s going well. We’re expecting a pretty busy day tomorrow.”

Sima’s terrain park opened last month, much to the delight of local enthusiasts.

“The preseason terrain park really gave people a glimpse as to what the season would look like,” said O’Brien.

“People are just raring to go.”

Sima was the first ski hill to open in Canada this year, said Oettli.

The terrain park opened Nov. 1. In the future, Sima hopes to host out-of-town teams for preseason training.

In mid-November, the hill hosted two Canadian snowboard professionals – Jess Kimura and Ben Bilocq.

For more on Mount Sima, including hours of operation, visit www.mountsima.com.