With a nice base of snow, Sleeping Giant opened Friday with new amenities and praise from local families hungry to hit the slopes.

Business was a bit on the slow side on opening day, said Dean Madley, marketing manager for the ski lodge 46 miles west of Cody. However, that gave managers time to test new social distancing software and to continue work on snow features and to test procedures.

“With our new online booking system, we had to test how that would work [and] it went really smooth,” Madley said. “We’re really stoked with how that’s going.”

It also gave him time to work on other projects, like smoothing out the rough spots at the terrain park. He and employees Schwenn Houston and freestyle coach John Wells grabbed shovels and spent some time shaping a 10-foot mound of man-made snow Saturday morning. Cold temperatures have given them a chance to get a jump on the competition with the snowmaking machinery. It also gave new skiers a chance to learn with plenty of space for errors.

April Conaway brought her children, Charlotte and Nora, Saturday. When the day started, Nora, who at the age of 5 is in her second year of skiing, was a little nervous on skis. A couple hours and several runs later she came zipping past, bragging about beating her mother down the slope.

“We’re really excited that it opened up early this year with snowmaking and excited to do night skiing tonight,” April said.

Skiing under the lights Friday and Saturday night was a first for the facility, which changed hands this past season. Nick Piazza, an international banking entrepreneur who grew up in Cody, purchased the business through his company, Community Mountain, LLC, and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make structural improvements.

“I’m willing to take some financial risk here,” Piazza said in September, as he waited for the deal to be finalized by Shoshone National Forest officials.

The Forest Service leases the land for the summer and winter destination popular with local residents. The facility had been operated by the nonprofit Yellowstone Recreations Foundation since 2009. The foundation was formed to get the ski hill up and running again, after various issues led Sleeping Giant to shut down following the winter of 2004. However, even the addition of a zip line to generate summertime revenue wasn’t enough to make ends meet over the years; in January, the Yellowstone Recreations Foundation announced that 2019-20 was set to be its last winter of skiing. However, the foundation reversed course after an outpouring of community support; it announced the deal with Piazza in September.

Matthew and Grace Pearsall, of Wapiti, brought their 3-year-old daughter Victoria to the mountain for her first day on skis. They are excited for the family entertainment.

“If there wasn’t someone supporting it, I mean, there’s a lot of kids who may not have very much to do during the wintertime,” Grace said.

Sleeping Giant’s ski instructors spent the day checking out a new yurt and the runs. The yurt is an attempt to give visitors extra room instead of facing a crowded lodge. It has a wood-burning stove and lots of light for those wanting to spend some time at picnic tables or in spaced-out beanbags. There are also picnic tables distributed through the facility for outdoor meals and tailgating is being encouraged. The kitchen is up and running; the smell of burgers on the grill filled the air as lunch began to be served. Park County commissioners recently agreed to grant a retail liquor license to the facility — just like the one that Yellowstone Recreations Foundation held — so some alcohol is available.

As the season progresses, Sleeping Giant managers hope to continue weekend bus service for skiers from Powell. Their first big event is scheduled for the New Year’s holiday weekend, Madley said. They will announce races, freestyle competitions and a triathlon in January.