Snow, colder weather to bolster ski areas

With colder weather predicted this weekend and snow expected today, Lookout Pass Ski Area and Silver Mountain Resort were tentatively planning to open today.

Lookout, at the Idaho-Montana state line, on Friday postponed its opening one day until today due to rain and above-freezing temperatures.

"Should the forecast hold true, we should have very good conditions for the weekend," said Phil Edholm, Lookout's president and CEO.

Chairs 1 and 4 are expected to be open with top-to-bottom skiing and riding on the front side of the mountain.

Lookout on Friday reported no new snow in the previous 48 hours, but that was expected to change on Friday night and this morning. It reported 14 inches of snow at the base and 26 inches at the summit.

At Silver Mountain at Kellogg, there is a 70 percent chance of snow today with a high of 20 degrees predicted. Sunday is expected to be sunny with a high of 13.

"We are evaluating conditions regarding the possibility of operating this weekend and hoping the forecast comes in close to the 4 to 8 inches of snow that was predicted," said Neal Scholey, Silver's marketing director. "We will have an update on our snow report by 6 a.m. (today)."

Schweitzer was open on Friday, running the Basin Express with access to Midway. It is also planning to be open today and Sunday. The high there is predicted to be 25 today and 27 on Sunday.

Schweitzer on Friday reported 26 inches for the season 12 inches at the base and no snow in the previous 48 hours.

Skiers are always encouraged to visit ski resorts' websites before heading to the mountains to get updates and the latest ski reports as conditions can change.

Those sites are www.skilookout.com, www.silvermt.com and www.schweitzer.com.