The race to be the first North American Ski Resort to open up her trails and chairlifts for the season always gets a lot of attention this time of year, especially in Colorado. For the past, oh... half a century (give or take) it has been one of only two High-Alpine Colorado Resorts to earn the prestigious "First to Open" honor each season.

This year it was Loveland Ski Area on Wednesday, Oct. 7th. (See the story here)

Naturally the world assumed (well, those of us who care about this kind of thing) that Arapahoe Basin would earn the title of "Second North American Resort to Open" when they opened two days later on Friday, October 9th.

I mean, its a sure-fire bet. It's been One and Two for either Loveland or A-Basin for the past 40 some years when it comes to opening early.

But a small, unassuming resort had different plans for this season. And no one saw it coming.

Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort opened their lifts to the public just hours after Loveland's opening last Wednesday.

Seriously? Las Vegas and snow in October?

Beating out resorts in the Rocky Mountains???

The high desert mountain resort located just miles out of sunny Las Vegas really shook things up by throwing themselves into the race to open first in North America by breaking the four decade tradition.

And honestly, kudo's to the little resort for their hustle. Everyone likes an underdog story.

And of course, its a bonus for anyone living close enough and willing to make the drive. Historically riding and skiing as early October is a privilege only the spoiled Coloradans get to brag about. The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort will be open every weekend during the pre-season until the regular season starts and they open daily. Discounted tickets are available. Check out their website here for more details.

The unanticipated opening of, quite frankly, the last ski resort in the nation I would have pegged to open early, is just one of a series of unusual events that lends itself to the industries rumors of either an "El Nino" year (the fabled "big snow" year that is said to happen every three to eight years and is generated from a certain world weather pattern) or, possibly, another effect of global warming.

Coinciding with the early opening of the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort was the Burton B Movie Tour stop in sin city just days before the resort opened. Check out the gallery from the premier with photos of Terje, Mikkel, Keegan, Jeremy Jones and more of the Burton team here or by clicking on one of the thumbnails below.

And for even more stimuli, check out the GrindTV.com video from the second stop of the Burton tour in Irvine, CA here.