RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) – A lack of natural snow has hurt resorts’ efforts to attract some early season business, but they’re hopeful that it will pick up soon.

Ski areas are hoping that better snowmaking and other improvements will help compensate for the slow start.

David Dillon, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, said last year was not great for the industry.

Poor snow conditions early and then a deep freeze through most of January took its toll. Luckily, he said, excellent snow conditions in February and March caused a much-needed rebound.

But he said the lack of natural snow now will take its toll on the coming season.

“We won’t have a real strong Thanksgiving this year and we can’t recover those skier visits,” he said. “And if they don’t come now, even though they may come later, we can’t make up for that day we’ve lost. So each day and each weekend is important for the industry.”

A snow storm would be welcome, but officials at Stowe said colder than normal weather in early November helped the resort crank out lots of manmade snow.

Spokesman Jeff Wise said two runs were open from top to bottom this weekend. He said the resort also put in two new chairlifts this summer, including a high-speed detachable quad, which he said would make a big difference in speeding skiers up the mountain.

At Killington, 20 trails were open. Spokesman Gillis Lynn said the resort spent $4 million this summer on snowmaking upgrades and other improvements.

“What we’ve done over this past summer is probably three times as much as what we’ve done over the course of the past couple of summers,” he said.

Lynn said skiers would notice new signage across the resort as well as big changes on Bear Mountain, which caters to advanced skiers and snowboarders. He said there would be new tree skiing there as well as an adventure park with a half pipe, rails and other elements.

Dillon said resorts across the state have been spending millions on upgrades over the past several years to better compete with resorts out West. While those improvements will help, he said for holiday weekends some well placed snowstorms in Philadelphia, Hartford or Boston would be even better.