Five ski and snowboard areas in the Cascades will open Friday or Saturday, making this one of the earliest starts to the state's season.

Stevens Pass, Summit West at Snoqualmie and Mission Ridge all announced that they plan to open Saturday. Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker had said earlier this week that they planned to open on Friday.

"It is good news, particularly when we had great momentum coming off last winter," said, Scott Kaden, president of the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association. "And to be able to come back in mid-November and recapture that momentum is very important for our [ski-area] operations.

"We have a favorable long-term forecast for La Niña, with low temperatures and a high moisture level, which helps to provide for quality-type snow."

Early snowfall has triggered the early openings, and the extended forecast calls for more snow in the Cascades through Thanksgiving.

"It is always great whenever we have a mid-November opener, and we're really excited," said John Gifford, the Stevens Pass general manager, who pointed out that it's the third-earliest season opening for that area in the past 25 years. "This winter is encouraging and, as with any year where we open before the Thanksgiving holiday, we are very optimistic about a strong season to come."

This time of year, skiers and snowboarders should be aware of thin snow cover, bare areas and exposed rocks as well as unmarked hazards.

Here's the plan for local ski areas:

• Mount Baker Ski Area will be open 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday at both base areas with six chairlifts operating. Snow depth Thursday afternoon was 36 inches at Heather Meadows base, and 45 inches at the Pan Dome base.

• Crystal Mountain Resort was open well into July, mostly thanks to a huge snowpack last winter and the recent addition of the high-speed Mount Rainier Gondola. Crystal reopens Friday, with the gondola and Green Valley lift running 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Skiing is limited to Green Valley, which is intermediate to advanced terrain. It had 30 inches at the summit, and 16 inches at the base Thursday.

• Stevens Pass opens Saturday for daily operations 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with limited terrain on the Daisy and Brooks chairlifts. Stevens had 25 inches of snow at the base and 32 inches on the upper mountain Thursday.

• Summit West at Snoqualmie will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Pacific Crest, Little Thunder, Dodge Ridge and Julie's lifts will be running. . Summit West will be closed Monday and Tuesday and reopen Wednesday. It had 23 inches at the base Thursday.

• Mission Ridge will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, then reopen Nov. 25-27. It had 9 inches at the summit, 7 inches at mid-mountain, with no base snow depth Thursday.

• The White Pass Ski Area will not open this weekend but plans to open by Thanksgiving.