CARRABASSETT VALLEY – With man-made snow covering trails and less than two weeks to go before opening day, Sugarloaf/USA staffers claimed Monday to be the first in New England to ride a lift and whiz down a mountain this year.

Low-energy snow guns made snow on the mountain’s trails for three days straight before the first runs were taken, according to a mountain news release. With less than two weeks before opening day, the mountain is in high-gear.

The snow guns, which make about 40 percent more snow than conventional ones, will allow Sugarloaf/USA to open the Tote Road trail on opening day, which would not be possible otherwise. “With them, we can get more terrain open sooner and earlier in the season,” Sugarloaf President John Diller said in the release.

“Resort management decided to run the lift to give employees the opportunity to make the first tracks before the resort opens to the public on Nov. 17,” the release noted

Lift tickets will be discounted to $21 on opening weekend, Nov. 18-19, according to the release. But the discount comes with a catch, in the form of a donation of three cans of food for Sugarloaf’s annual Tin Mountain Round Up.