Avalanche Of Calls Idaho Resorts Snowed Under With Inquiries, But Eager Skiers Told To Be Patient

Mother Nature is playing hard to get.

The last two days she dropped just enough snow to tease area skiers and torment resort managers who desperately want to crank up the chairlifts.

Most of the ski resorts in North Idaho and near Spokane received about a foot of snow Tuesday. It was enough for them to start thinking about opening limited runs this weekend and prompt a flurry of calls from snow seekers.

“People were frantic when they saw snow in the mountains this morning,” said Schweitzer Mountain Resort spokesman Bill Mullane. “Our phones were ringing off the hook with people who want to go skiing.”

The resort logged more than 1,600 calls Tuesday on its snow phone. Other resorts reported a similar phoning frenzy. A handful of snowboarders even hiked their way up to Lookout Pass and Schweitzer to make a few runs.

Several cross-country skiers also slogged through the wet snow and falling sleet, better known to optimistic skiers as “white rain.”

“It’s getting to the point where there are enough pent-up skiers out there that they will do just about anything to get in the snow,” said Tim Newhart, Silver Mountain’s marketing director.

“We are champing at the bit, too, but we simply can’t predict an opening date with such a roller coaster of temperatures here.”

The National Weather Service predicts warmer weather the rest of the week with scattered showers and temperatures in the mid-40s and 50s.

For the record, there is about 10 inches of snow at the base of Schweitzer. Silver Mountain fared a little better with just over 16 inches at midmountain. Lookout Ski Area had a foot of heavy wet snow, 49 Degrees North managed 8 inches, while only traces of snow remained at Mount Spokane.

Snow fell at most of the resorts until noon, when it turned to rain. But if a few more inches drop from the skies this week, resort managers said they could open a limited number of runs for the weekend.

“If it continues to snow this week it would be very realistic to open Friday,” Mullane said. “The next 48 hours will be the window for making a decision.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Idaho headline: Idaho resorts snowed under - with phone calls