A snowboarder rides at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington last year during the ski center season opener. (Provided photo — Olympic Regional Development Authority)

The Whiteface Mountain Ski Center and Mt. Van Hoevenberg are opening for the season on Friday, the state Olympic Regional Development Authority announced Wednesday.

Whiteface Mountain will open with more than two miles of terrain, spanning 30 acres, according to ORDA. Skiers will have access to five trails via the Face Lift chair and Cloudsplitter Gondola to Excelsior, Summit Express, Upper Valley, Lower Valley and Fox trails.

“We are excited to show off our newest improvements to lifts, lodges, and snowmaking, and we can’t wait to see our skiers and riders,” Whiteface Mountain General Manager Aaron Kellett said in a statement. ORDA has updated the Whiteface snowmaking system, replaced the Bear Lift with a new quad out of the base area, and has completed all remaining work on the new Mid Station, which the authority is now calling the “Legacy Lodge.” The original Mid Station burned down in 2019.

The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games’ official mascot, “Adirondack Mac,” will be visiting Whiteface Mountain from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., posing for pictures and greeting skiers and riders in the Base Lodge, at the base of the Cloudsplitter Gondola and Face Lift Chair, and at the summit of Little Whiteface.

ORDA also anticipates opening over 2 kilometers of terrain at Mount Van Hoevenberg. The new Nordic facility has a new climbing wall, wax rooms, lockers, RFID gates. The new Mountain Pass Lodge will be open, too, as it has been for a few months.

“After a successful 2020/21 season, we are eager to share our venue and world-class cross-country trails this winter,” Mt. Van Hoevenberg General Manager Rebecca Dayton said in a statement.

Two other ski areas managed by ORDA, Gore Mountain and Belleayre, will also be opening for the season this week. Adirondack Mac will be visiting Gore Mountain on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.