Big snows get Blacktail off to strong start
Jacob Doran/Bigfork Eagle A snowboarder gets in his first turns of the season on Christmas Eve at Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside.
Whether or not the sun was shining last week, faces were shining brightly on Blacktail Mountain, with both the skiers and Blacktail staff grinning from ear to ear over the highly anticipated Christmas Eve opening and near perfect conditions that prevailed throughout the weekend.
“It’s been wonderful,” Blacktail manager Steve Spencer said. “It’s been really good. We’ve had good crowds, every day and we’ve had snow every day. Obviously, everybody is happy. You just about couldn’t ask for much more.
“It’s hard to get a handle on just how many people are here from day to day, because there are a lot of season pass holders and they are enjoying their passes too. All I can say is that it’s been good, and we still have a lot of out-of-town people who are here, staying through the fourth, when we go back to our Monday and Tuesday closure.”
The mountain is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the rest of the regular season.
The ski area has been open every day of the holiday season and will continue to be open through Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The snow continued to accumulate throughout the holiday and last weekend. In fact, the ski area received 14 inches of snow in 24 hours as the generous snowfall continued to amaze and delight skiers and staff alike on Sunday.
As of Monday morning, the mountain had a settled base of 45 inches, with more snow forecasted throughout the week.
Spencer said the ski area anticipates a high turnout throughout the week, as well as a significant weekend crowd.