Dawn light across the Yosemite high country Sunday unveiled a sparkling winter scene. The first big storm of the season had transformed the high Sierra.

At the same time, applications for the annual lottery for Ostrander Hut, the spectacular cross-country ski destination out of Badger Pass, are open with a deadline of Nov. 19.

At Tuolumne Meadows, perched at an elevation of 8,600 feet, about a foot of snow fell Friday night and Saturday. Power and phones were down.

Over the weekend, park rangers temporarily closed Tioga Road, Glacier Point Road and Mariposa Road. All are expected to reopen this week with sunny weather and afternoon temps in the 50s, perhaps even rising to the 60s by the end of the week.

The early winter-like storm Saturday, once typical for Halloween weekend in the high Sierra, gave rise to hopes that a “normal” winter is on the way even though no storms are forecast for the next two weeks.

It also jump-starts the optimism for winter sports, with hopes high for cross-country skiing out of Badger Pass on Glacier Point Road in Yosemite’s back country, one of the nation’s best launch points.

The Ostrander Hut is one of the centerpieces. The stone cabin was built in 1941 and restored in recent years. It provides wilderness overnight lodging for cross-county skiers (capacity is 25 people) at Ostrander Lake.

From Badger Pass, it’s a 10-mile trip to the Ostrander Hut, ideal for a weekend trip, one day in and one day out. The trip features quiet, solitude and breathtaking views of Half Dome, the Clark Range and Mount Hoffmann. Nightly rates range from $35, Mondays through Thursdays, to $55, Fridays through Sundays.

The Yosemite Conservancy runs the lottery, manages the hut and staffs it with a full-time hut keeper. It usually opens from about mid-December through early April, though last year, drought and no snow in November, December and January wrecked a lot of winter trips.

For the info and the lottery form, go to www.yosemiteconservancy.org/ostrander.

Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoors writer. E-mail: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom