Whistler-Blackcomb drew huge crowds when it opened ahead of schedule on Saturday. (Emmanuel Mendes dos Santos)

An early blast of snow allowed Whistler-Blackcomb to open 12 days ahead of schedule on Saturday, drawing a huge crowd of skiers and snowboarders.

"We had some great big storms that have come in from the Gulf of Alaska and we've left close to four feet of snow here over the last 10 days, and so our crews got to work earlier this week when we made the decision," said Stuart Rempel, vice-president of marketing at Whistler-Blackcomb.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics three months away, Rempel said the mountain is ready.

"Well, this is a huge year for Whistler-Blackcomb … we've done an amazing amount of work here," he said

"We've got all the snow-making infrastructure that's in. Everything's done in Whistler and there's no better year to come visit Whistler than right now."

The Environment Canada alpine forecast is calling for more snow, with as much \as 70 centimetres expected to fall over the next several days.

With files from The Canadian Press