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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Peak conditions greet skiers

After an “epic powder day” kicked off the region’s ski season Friday, skiers and snowboarders are looking forward to even more snow over the weekend.

Heavy snows left 10 to 15 inches of new accumulation at most Inland Northwest resorts Friday morning. Over the previous 48 hours, some resorts got more than 2 feet of new snow. Most regional ski areas opened for the year on Friday.

At Mt. Spokane, the snowfall helped the resort open earlier than planned. Because so much fell so fast, workers scrambled to get three lifts open for skiers Friday. General manager Brad McQuarrie said the entire mountain should be open today.

“That’s a lot of snow in a 48-hour period,” McQuarrie said. “It was too much snow for what we can handle in a short time. I mean it’s nice. I’m not complaining.”

The heaviest snowfall was reported at Lookout Pass, on the Idaho-Montana border, and Silver Mountain, in Kellogg, with roughly 15 inches awaiting skiers Friday morning.

“Mother Nature definitely gave us a huge gift for opening,” said Stephen Lane, marketing director at Silver Mountain.

The Lookout Pass Web site, in the understated style of ski hill snow reports, called it an “EPIC POWDER DAY!”

Lookout Pass marketing director Jim Schreiber said the snowfall had attracted a lot of skiers.

“Right now it’s a zoo up here,” he said about noon Friday. “Our parking lot is jammed full. They’re even parking on the entry and exit ramps.”

The snowfall continued during the day at the pass.

“Most of the cars have 1 1/2 or 2 inches on their roofs right now,” Schreiber said.

Lookout is typically the earliest-opening ski hill in the area. It opened Nov. 16.

At Mt. Spokane and 49 Degrees North, 10 inches of new snow awaited skiers Friday, and Schweitzer had 6 inches.

At Schweitzer, several lifts were running for Friday’s season opener. The back side is set to open today, said Patrick Sande, marketing manager. Like officials at other resorts, he reported big crowds Friday.

“We had a great opening day,” he said.