Mt. Ashland Ski Area plans to open Friday, Dec. 6, for passholders to launch a new season boasting a brand new lift and some of the mountain’s best snowpack since the 1990s.

The resort will open to all skiers and snowboarders Saturday, Dec. 7, with the Sonnet, Comer and Windsor lifts running 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Single-day lift tickets will not be available for purchase until Dec. 7, the ski area said in a press release early Friday morning.

The Ariel chair lift will not be open to start the season after a tree fall damaged Ariel Tower 8 on Nov. 22, the release said.

“The tree removal itself took a total of 11 hours between trained tree removal professionals and our mountain operations teams,” officials said. “The crew is now in the process of determining next steps based on the assessed damage.”

Indoor crews spent last weekend participating in an employee orientation at the ski area, according to a social media post made Sunday on Mt. Ashland’s official Facebook page. Meanwhile, outdoor crews worked “tirelessly throughout (last) week and weekend” making sure lifts and the ski area are ready.

The post also boasts snow levels in November “being the highest they’ve been since the ‘90s.”

The mountain has seen 83 inches of snowfall for the season, according to a Thursday mountain report on the ski area’s website.

The ski area warns that the surface is not managed pre-season, and the snow surface is marked by wind rows, vehicle tracks and equipment roads.

A hitch could be a weather forecast that might impact snow totals. Sunny skies are predicted this weekend and into early next week, with highs in the lower 40s on the mountain. Highs in Medford could reach the upper 50s beginning Sunday and continue into next week, according to the National Weather Service office in Medford.

After opening, the season will feature the debut of the ski area’s newly completed lift — the Lithia Chair — which is the first new lift to be installed at Mt. Ashland since the 1980s. According to updates earlier this month, the chair is expected to open in late December or early January, and will provide access to low and intermediate level terrain, according to an earlier news report.

Andrew Gast, the ski area’s general manager, said in an email Wednesday that a coming lift inspection report covers all of Mt. Ashland’s surface and aerial lifts.

He added that the Lithia Chair won’t open right away because “there are some grooming and traffic-flow elements that we don’t want to introduce right away.”

The chair’s name is a nod to Rogue Valley benefactors Sid and Karen DeBoer.

The DeBoers donated $500,0000 toward the new feature, and their foundation is giving $2 million. The new chairlift will be placed where a Poma surface lift was removed in the 1980s and will open more beginner and intermediate terrain.

Other upgrades this season include all night lights being upgraded to modern LEDs.

The nonprofit ski area is planning a Winter Kick-Off Party from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the lodge located at 11 Mt. Ashland Ski Road in Ashland.

It will feature live music, food vendors and a preview of what’s new.

For more information check mtashland.com. Also the weekend before opening, the Ashland Ski & Gear Swap runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, Dec. 8, at Southern Oregon University.

Locals who want to hit the slopes sooner have options if they’re willing to travel. Mt. Bachelor, Willamette Pass and Hoodoo opened Friday, Nov. 29, and Mt. Shasta Ski Park in Northern California opens Wednesday, Dec. 11.