The Nordic Center outside Flagstaff opened Friday for the first time this season, but there was only about 6 inches of snow on the ground. The center opened 40 percent of its groomed trails.

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They're making snowmen and snow angels in Flagstaff but they're not making any runs down the ski slopes.

The Arizona Snowbowl ski area is already two weeks past its average opening date, and the resort is losing out on its busiest time of year, the two weeks between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3.

Although more than a foot of snow fell on the Snowbowl in Northern Arizona on Thursday and Friday, the dusting wasn't enough for the resort to open, said J.R. Murray, general manager of the state's most popular ski area.

Just enough snow fell in the past few days for the area's cross-country skiers, though. The Nordic Center outside Flagstaff opened Friday for the first time this season, but there was only about 6 inches of snow on the ground.

"To miss Christmas in and of itself is devastating for any ski area, because that's the first kickoff of the ski season and also a very important and critical holiday for the business," Murray said.

This year's late opening will be the second in a row for Snowbowl. Last year, the resort opened in mid-March, a record-late opening.

"This makes two years in row," Murray said. "We would typically do 25,000 skiers in that two-week period. … It's too soon to start categorizing the season, but it will go down in history books as another season we missed Christmas."

Arizona's delayed winter weather stands in contrast to the storms that have pummeled Colorado and slid into New Mexico in the past two weeks. On Saturday in eastern Colorado, National Guard troops in tracked vehicles were rescuing motorists trapped by the region's second holiday season blizzard.

But the storms have left the Snowbowl with just a teasing of white stuff, not enough for full-fledged skiing.

There are other places to hit the slopes in the state, and some are operating, although the snow is decidedly unlike that piling up in Colorado.

Sunrise Park Resort in eastern Arizona's White Mountains opened in early December on man-made snow, and the Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley resort outside Tucson opened for the first time Friday with a foot of snow. The Elk Ridge Ski Area west of Flagstaff near Williams is still closed.

Murray said the Snowbowl resort's hundreds of staff members were hired and trained by last month, but now some have begun returning to Flagstaff from holiday vacations and likely will start looking for other jobs if the resort doesn't open soon.

He said the resort likely needs at least another foot and a half of snow before it could open.

Tom Clemmons, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, said a new storm is predicted for Monday and Tuesday and could bring about 3 to 6 inches of powder to the resort.

He said the reason Snowbowl is seeing more late openings is because of a long-term drought. He said droughts can last 10 to 30 years, based on analysis of tree rings.

But, he said Snowbowl may get help this year from El Niño, which develops every few years when tropical Pacific waters warm, changing wind and weather patterns that can result in climate changes in much of the world.

El Niño hasn't affected Snowbowl in the past couple of years, but Clemmons said this year it is predicted to bring more snow to the area in January or February.

Meanwhile, businesses dependent on the ski season are feeling the crunch.

"We would normally have rental lines out the door," said Susan Kannapel, manager of the Ski Pro ski and snowboard supply stores in Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler.

But Blake Nabours, manager of popular Flagstaff eatery Alpine Pizza, said the restaurant has gotten so used to minimal or no snow in the winter, that when it does happen, it's just a bonus.

"We don't really rely on there being snow," Nabours said, adding that summertime is by far the busiest time of year for the cozy pizza joint.

"People go to Phoenix, then they go to Sedona, they come into Flagstaff, go to the Grand Canyon and then to Vegas," Nabours said. "The only thing that would hurt our business is if the Grand Canyon disappeared and Las Vegas exploded."

Nabours, who is a skier, said he's disappointed that he can't hit the slopes but is glad there's any powder at all.

"It's way cool. I'm really happy we had a white Christmas this year," he said.

Lynda Fleischer, a ski instructor at Snowbowl, said she can't wait for the season to begin.

"Skiing and snowboarding — they're my passion and there's personally nothing better than a good pair of skis on a ski slope," she said.