AUTUMN WONDERLAND SNOW FANS HEAD FOR HILLS.

Byline: Orith Goldberg and Jason Kandel Staff Writers

A few storms and some chilly temperatures in the mountains sent Southern Californian skiers and snowboarders flocking Friday to Mammoth and other resorts in an early kickoff to the winter sports season.

Aided by snowmaking machines and early snow, resort operators said there was an 18- to 24-inch base that allowed five of 30 lifts to be opened on Halloween, nine days sooner than the scheduled opening.

``It snowed this past weekend and right after that the call volume went through the roof,'' said Karen McGillis, communications director for the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which owns five lodging properties in Mammoth. ``We're pretty booked up for the weekend.''

While no precipitation is expected over the weekend, Big Bear and Wrightwood might have a slight chance today, said National Weather Service weather specialist Curt Kaplan.

Toby Hall, a salesman at Footloose Sports, a ski and snowboard rental store in Mammoth, said the store has been ``pretty busy'' with the advent of snow and enthusiasts ready to take to the slopes.

``The mountain hasn't been open this early in a while,'' he said. ``People tend to get excited pretty quickly when the mountain opens.''

Truckloads of ski and snowboard equipment arrived at the SportMart in Woodland Hills on Thursday in anticipation of a big Thanksgiving weekend sale.

``They've come in already checking the snowboards, snow boots and ski boots,'' said store manager Mike Duran, 50. ``They're ready to buy the stuff. They're just waiting for the rain, the cold and the snow to get here.''

Inside SportMart, fearless snowboarder Ty Wong, who says he'll tackle any steep, deep or crooked slope on just about any mountain, was busy buying snow pants and snowboard bindings. He'll head to Tahoe next week.

``They say this is going to be the coldest season in a long time,'' said the 26-year-old Reseda resident and supermarket clerk. ``I think it'll be pretty good this season. It feels cold right now. It's freezing at night.

He anticipates big snow and big slopes.

``Whatever they got, I'll go on it. I'm not scared of anything. You know, you only live once, you know,'' he said.

At the Sports Chalet in West Hills, snowboarder Mike Bondo was anticipating a good season as he eyed the latest snazzy snowboard designs. His favorite spot is Mammoth, where he plans to go soon.

``Locally, it's too hot,'' said the 22-year-old psychology student at California State University, Northridge. ``They could blow all night and all day but it's still not going to stick at all. It's going to be slushy, and you're going to be riding on dirt basically.''

But as for the upcoming winter weekends, he said, ``I can't wait. I've been waiting all summer. I mean, I like the beaches, but I really like the snow.''

Down the street at Sports Ltd. on Ventura Boulevard, Jeremy Jones and his buddy Ray Hyles, both of West Covina, were doing last-minute shopping for snowboard bindings just hours before they were set to pack up to head to Mammoth for the weekend.

``It's a last-minute thing and then we head to the mountain range,'' said Jones, 21, an assistant underwriter for an insurance company in Woodland Hills. ``We're going to take our snowboards and stuff and some goodies.''

The cool weather has been great for snowmaking at areas such as Mountain High, which opened Friday, its earliest opening to date, said Brad Wilson, assistant general manager of Mountain High Resort, a day resort.

With a 12- to-18-inch base, the mountain will have limited intermediate terrain open this weekend and Wilson said he is expecting a considerable turnout on the slopes. ``We do expect to be quite busy this weekend.''

While resorts such as Snow Summit and Big Bear Mountain are not expected to open this weekend, employees at the resorts said the cool temperatures for this time of year and the call volumes they have received this week are indicative of a great ski season.

``We're excited about this season,'' said Emilia Mulligan, communications manager for Big Bear Mountain Resort. ``We've already had three times the amount of snow since last year. Once it starts snowing, it kicks the phones for reservations . . . we went from averaging 35 calls a day to 300 calls.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Early snow has send skiers and snowboarders flocking to the mountains, where winter sports started Friday at Mountain High.

(2) With early snow and cool temperatures, officials at Mountain High expect more people to hit the slopes.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer