GILFORD — Gunstock Mountain Resort has overcome many challenges in its 87 years operating as a ski area, and has responded to the warm start to the season with snow guns blazing.

The winter of 2023-24 was predicted at the beginning of December to be warmer than usual in New England, among other regions of the U.S. like Northern California and Washington, according to the National Weather Service. In addition to weather impacted by climate change, the naturally reoccurring cycle of warming in the Pacific, El Niño, will lead to a warmer winter this year.

With the warmer weather and lack of natural snow, it has been a slower start to the winter season. Since opening for the season on Dec. 8, the mountain has opened 26 ski trails, all of them are covered by artificial snow. General manager Tom Day has praised the effectiveness of the snow in the warmer weather.

“This manmade snow is pretty invincible,” he said. “Manmade snow stands up to all kinds of weather. We’ve had some pretty warm weather, we’ve had some rain, and we haven’t lost a trail.”

Day also mentioned that despite the opening of the trails, Gunstock hasn’t yet seen their typical traffic: only about 50% of what is normal for the winter season. Despite this, the snow sports school is sold out in the children’s programming. Day believes this discrepancy is most likely due to a misconception on how the snow is handling the weather.

“People need to understand just because they don’t have snow in the backyard, we make it,” he said. “The week before Christmas, we got five more trails open in four days. All we need is another four or five days, now 100% of all of our trails are open. We can make more than Mother Nature can, faster.”

The reviews have been mixed on how good the snow feels on the way down the mountain. Kevin Walsh, a skier from Boston who comes to Gunstock about twice a year, said the snow is a bit slushy, when usually it is much more packed down.

“It’s definitely not like it usually is, but the conditions are better than I thought they were going to be,” he said. “In some ways, it works out a little better because there’s a lot less people here in the mountains, so you ski right down.”

Another skier, Daniel Tamgarone from Manchester, grew up skiing at Gunstock. This resort is one of his favorites and he gets a nostalgic kick being back this year. Tamgarone was optimistic about the snow conditions.

“It was perfectly slushy, and that just means that it’s like some nice cushion under your feet, and you can set in the edge pretty well,” he said. “It’s better than ice, which is what we’re used to in the Northeast.”

Tamgarone’s brother Adam, who taught snow sports at Gunstock for seven years, then coached with the Gunstock Freestyle Association for another seven, added comments about the weather, and that he believes Gunstock can tackle it.

Day also spoke to how Gunstock made $6 million in renovations this summer for the winter season. Despite the warmer weather, people can have an enjoyable experience unlike any other year at Gunstock.