When Mother Nature doesn’t deliver, it’s up to technology — and a dedicated crew willing to work in freezing cold weather while the rest of the world sleeps — to bring winter to the slopes.

There has been an unseasonably warm start to this winter, with local ski resorts cranking on their snowmaking machines to blanket slopes for enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the start of the ski and snowboard season.

It’s nothing new for resort operators in Southern California; winters can be fickle and unpredictable for the mountain towns wedged between desert landscape and the Pacific Ocean. Some seasons, the mountains are a winter wonderland blanketed in deep snow, while other years, the season doesn’t get started until after the holidays. And some winters, snow hardly shows up at all.

“There’s a re

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