Sliding (happily) away
Photo courtesy of Matt Sawyer/Lookout Pass Ski Area Bob Ambrose, of Kalispell, Mont., carves a turn down Lookout’s Golden Eagle slope on Sunday. The three North Idaho ski resorts plan to re-open on Friday.
Photo courtesy of Schweitzer Mountain Resort Skiers ride a lift at Schweitzer Mountain Resort near Sandpoint during the opening weekend.
Photo courtesy of Matt Sawyer/Lookout Pass Ski Area Lookout Pass Ski School Director Chris Milam, of Wallace, turns down the Bonanza run during Lookout's opening weekend on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Matt Sawyer/Lookout Pass Ski Area A skier takes a jump from the Interstate trail leading into Lookout Pass Ski Area's upper Bonanza trail on Sunday.
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
With more mountain snow expected this week and opening weekend at North Idaho's three resorts in the rear-view mirror, ski season's momentum is all downhill.
Lookout Pass Ski Area at the Idaho-Montana state line, Schweitzer Mountain Resort near Sandpoint, and Silver Mountain Resort at Kellogg all plan to re-open on Friday after opening last weekend.
"Snow unleashed on Friday (night), so we had a stellar opening on Saturday," said Matt Sawyer, Lookout's marketing director.
The three resorts opened on the weekend to start the season, but tentatively plan to eventually be open seven days a week. Schweitzer plans to be open seven days starting Friday, Silver starting Dec. 14 and Lookout Dec. 20.
Sawyer said that as of Monday, 53 total inches of snow had fallen at the summit of Lookout. Snow depth was about 18 inches at the top and 12 at the bottom.
"We're expecting another storm this week," Sawyer said.
Lookout opened unusually early last year — Nov. 4.
"This year was by no means an early opening," he said.
Sawyer said trails for the 483-acre, 14-trail Eagle Peak expansion on the southwest side of the existing operation will be cut next summer.
"It will nearly double our size," he said. "Road construction to the summit started before the snow fell."
Silver, which opened on Friday, has measured 26 total inches of snow this season.
"We always aim to open the day after Thanksgiving," said Siobhan Ebel, marketing associate. "Last year was an exceptionally good year in terms of snowfall and we opened for a sneak preview Nov. 19."
The depth at mid-mountain was 14 inches on Monday and at Kellogg Peak 20 inches.
"Conditions were great this past weekend," Ebel said, adding that another lift could open this weekend with more snow. "We received nearly 6 inches of snow on Saturday."
Schweitzer, which opened with one lift on Friday, has had about 19 total inches of snow this season, including 9 over the weekend. The depth on Monday was 15 inches at the top and 12 inches at the lower part of the resort.
"The natural snow mixed with our manmade snow has given us great coverage," said Dig Chrismer, marketing manager. "Everyone was pleasantly surprised at the quality of snow we had last weekend. We had some people who went exploring a bit, but hopefully we can open more lifts as conditions allow."
Schweitzer plans to open two new lifts next year.