How to interpret early season snow reports: Many ski reports use percentages of different types of terrain open. For example, a report might say 50% of blue (intermediate) terrain open. If that area has 40 blue runs than that means 20 trails, but if it only has 5 blue runs then not much is open (see our fact sheets under each ski destination for how many trails each area has of each type). When reports list the number of trails open since one trail can lead into another as you travel down a mountain, several open trails can still mean limited options available to ski (look at trail map to figure that out). Lastly the number of lifts open is helpful for getting up the mountain and spreading out the lift lines, but many times more than one lift services the same limited terrain and that could mean more crowds on the slopes. Keep these things in mind when looking at the early season reports!