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ASHLAND — A Friday evening snowstorm expected to end Saturday morning will go a long way toward helping Hiram Towle decide whether to use the “O” word at the Mt. Ashland Ski Area. The ski area is eyeing a Dec. 8 opener for what he and other skiing and snowboarding faithful hope will be a long and white season atop Mount Ashland. The ski area Friday morning was sitting on a solid 16-inch snowpack, and the National Weather Service predicted that Towle, the ski area’s general manager, could wake up Saturday morning with as much as 14 inches of new snow — with no immediate threat of melting soon. That had ski area workers scrambling Friday to install a tow rope and a terrain park for this Saturday’s Snow Stomp kickoff on the mountain, where the “O” word — opener — has started to cross the loose-lipped but still superstitious. “If we do OK, we’ll have a good shot at opening the 8th, but we try not to talk about it until it’s here, because it’s all weather-dependent, Towle said. “I’ll believe it when I ski it,” he said. Towle could very well be a believer and make the call on whether Dec. 8 will bring the faithful back to the mountain, where a 24-inch base typically is enough to open. “If we can stitch together a couple of trails, we’re committed to opening,” Towle said. That certainly wasn’t the case last season, when a dearth of early-season snow kept the ski area closed until Jan. 26 of this year, only to close again Feb. 5. The ski area reopened Feb. 23 and stayed that way for two solid months, finally closing April 22 after plenty of late-season snow. That generated lots of interest, especially in March, Towle said. The 23,000 skiers in March was about 10,000 more than normal, and the ski area was able to operate in the black despite just 46 days of operation, Towle said. The ski area last opened on its targeted early December date during the 2016-17 season, when it garnered about 80,000 visitor/days during a 90-day season that Towle said is about an average year here. The 16-inch base Friday was solid, because it was built first by snow and then by some rain followed by a good freeze, Towle said. That set the stage for the snowstorm, which could drop 10 to 14 inches at the ski area as the snow level drops to as low as 2,500 feet above sea level, according to the Weather Service. “Any precipitation they get is going to be snow,” said meteorologist Misty Firmin. Having enough early snow will bolster interest in Saturday’s Snow Stomp, scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m., which will include some snow play at the terrain park as well as a soft opening of the remodeled lodge and restaurant. “People are stoked,” Towle said. “They get to see their mountain friends again.” And getting a little of the white stuff beneath their boards will buoy their spirits. “It’s like walking out of the desert and cracking a beer — it feels real good,” Towle said. “The snow is just like that.” Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman.