Though saws were still humming and hammers pounding in the new lodge Thursday, Saddleback will be open for business Saturday. The lodge is not complete but food is being prepared in the kitchens, retail store employees are hanging displays and rental equipment is being stowed in the shop.

And “they’ve been making snow like crazy this week,” according to employee Patty Carrier.

Meanwhile, in Farmington, Titcomb Mountain, owned and operated by the Farmington Ski Club, will also offer Alpine and Nordic skiing starting Saturday.

They’ve been making snow for days and ran their equipment almost 48 hours straight, according to new general manager Karleen Andrews.

Farmington’s Nordic ski team has been skate skiing on one loop of the Nordic area in the past week and has reported good conditions. The Nordic area is totally dependent on natural snow, so there will probably not be enough to groom for classic skiing Saturday, said Andrews. The area does plan to have four of their 17 Alpine trails open, though.

At Saddleback, employees there said the cafeteria, retail store and pub will all be operating Saturday, as will rentals and ski and snowboarding lessons. They plan to have 18 of their 50 trails open and three chair lifts running.

In Carrabassett Valley, Sugarloaf has been open for weeks and announced earlier this week that it plans to have the entire mountain open for Christmas, the earliest it has opened the summit since 2000, according to a news release.