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FLAGSTAFF — A ski resort that's operated for almost 70 years is facing its first-ever winter without a day of skiing.

The Arizona Snowbowl resort normally opens in mid-December and logs about 108 days of skiing and other winter sports each winter. A normal winter would bring 22 feet of snow.

This year, the Snowbowl has gotten 22 inches of snow, and most has melted off.

The resort will break a record for its latest-ever opening today — if it ever opens at all this year.

The snowbowl could still open in the early part of March if a monster snowstorm were to arrive, general manager J.R. Murray said.

The resort's full-time staff of 30 has been kept busy cleaning and smoothing the terrain on ski runs, he said. About 400 seasonal workers have been out of work.

The resort's operators have been trying to add snow-making equipment for years, but the effort has been tied up in the courts.

A federal judge's ruling in January cleared the way for the use of snow-making equipment using reclaimed water piped from Flagstaff. The ruling upheld an earlier Coconino National Forest decision.

Located on federal land northwest of Flagstaff in the San Francisco Peaks and owned and operated by Arizona Snowbowl Resort Limited Partnership, the facility has long struggled with short ski seasons because of lack of snow and unpredictable weather.

The Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation and other opponents of the snow-making plan argued that the U.S. Forest Service failed to comply with federal environmental laws or the government's trust responsibility in protecting Indian rights and religious freedom.

A number of tribes consider the peaks sacred and believe the snow-making plan would violate the sanctity of the mountains. They vow to appeal the judge's ruling.

For Murray, this year's lack of snow shows exactly why snow-making is needed.

"This is devastating," Murray said. "What business can survive not even opening its doors? … Luckily we're working our way through getting snow-making approved. It can't happen soon enough." He expects snow-making could start in about five years.

The Flagstaff area hasn't taken a huge tourism hit because of the lack of snow. Tourist visits and taxes collected from bars and restaurants used to gauge tourism show business holding steady or slightly up from last year, when the Snowbowl opened Thanksgiving weekend.