CARRABASSETT VALLEY (AP) – A pre-Halloween snowfall sent exuberant skiers trudging to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain to take advantage of the 40-inch dumping. Next door in New Hampshire, 4 feet of snow enabled Wildcat Mountain to open several trails.

Across the continent in Washington, Crystal Mountain opened Nov. 2 – the earliest since 1994 – thanks to snowfall of up to 3 feet in some areas. Loveland Ski Area in Colorado opened its season even earlier, on Oct. 14.

As autumn snowfall delighted skiers from coast to coast, ski areas’ optimism was tempered by concerns about the potential impact gasoline prices.

But ominous signs that higher gasoline costs will keep skiers away haven’t materialized and the season looks promising, industry officials say.

Maine’s preseason sales of season lift tickets and lodging are ahead of last year’s, said Greg Sweetser of the Ski Maine Association.

“We don’t want to be in denial on this thing (fuel prices),” said Sweetser, “but now, all indications are good.”

The outlook was similar elsewhere in New England as well as other regions of the country. Heather Atwell of the Vermont Ski Areas Association said that based on early bookings, “they’re still fairly certain people are still going to come.”

Just a few weeks ago, the average retail price for regular gasoline nationally was $2.60 per gallon, 81 cents per gallon more than it was last year at the same time, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Prices since then have dipped sharply, but where they will be when the ski season hits its peak is anyone’s guess.

Cathi Jerome at Silver Mountain in Kellogg, in Idaho’s Bitterroot Range, said gas prices remain a concern. That’s why the resort in late October sent post cards to pass holders who hadn’t renewed this year to ease their worries about fuel prices.

“Save Money! Save Gas!” say the cards, which tout easy access from major highways and preseason ticket discounts for the resort, which is about an hour’s drive from Spokane, Wash.

With higher energy prices in the picture, the national group’s Troy Hawks said ski areas will undoubtedly look for ways to economize on fuel used in operations.

American Skiing Company plans to use more than 500 low-energy snowguns, which consume up to 75 percent less energy than standard equipment at its resorts. ASC’s Chip Carey said it also pre-purchased a significant portion of eight-resort company’s energy needs, including diesel, propane and heating oil.

At Maine’s Sugarloaf, employees Troy Haskell and Chris Hull were busy installing snowmaking equipment last week, including some that use less energy. But the natural snow provided plenty for skiers.

“It’s the best skiing I’ve ever had in my life,” said Haskell.

Other ski areas, like Idaho’s Silver Mountain, have launched promotions that take price rises into account. But no one’s panicking, said Hawks.

Ski areas tend to worry more about snow droughts, bitter cold and Saturday blizzards that keep skiers off the mountains, said Sweetser.

And he noted that higher fuel prices may bring about a twist: added business for ski areas that are closer to big population centers.

Shawnee Peak in Bridgton, Maine, could benefit in that way by diverting traffic from the larger areas to the north. Shawnee, a mid-size ski area, has a marketing strategy that uses high gasoline prices to bring in skiers.

Last season, Shawnee started giving skiers who produced gas receipts from targeted areas $10 discounts on their lift tickets, said Marketing Director Melissa Rock. The program will continue this season, said Rock.

To encourage carpooling, Shawnee also offers “Carload Days” on non-holiday Mondays when everyone in a car gets a lift ticket for the price of one: $59.

Skiers and boarders will be looking for others with room to spare in their vehicles to economize on fuel. An Internet-based business, AlterNetRides.com, is based on that very idea.

AlterNetRides, which organizes carpools to ski areas, has already signed on at least a half-dozen ski areas from Boreal Mountain Resort in California to Waterville Valley in New Hampshire. The business set up 1,000 rides in its first three years, but President Mark Evanoff expects to exceed that number this season alone because of the high fuel prices.

Hard core skiers and snowboarders will be drawn by new attractions around the country, including those under the heading of extreme.

Mount Bohemia in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which boasts extreme skiing challenges and is known for its backcountry glade runs, has no place for novices. “Warning,” says a red sign on Bohemia’s Web site. “No beginners allowed.”

Boreal will open northern California’s only all-mountain terrain park this season, featuring a 450-foot superpipe. Echo Mountain, west of Denver in Colorado, is reopening as a terrain park exclusively, with 40 features or “as many as we can fit on the mountain,” said spokesman Chris Harris. Previously a locals’ mountain known as Squaw Pass, it closed in 1974.

At the same time, many destination resorts are taming their trails a bit with more grooming and fewer obstructions to keep the baby boomers, whose reflexes aren’t what they used to be, coming back.

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On the Net:

National Ski Areas Association: www.nsaa.org/nsaa/home/

AP-ES-11-13-05 1302EST