Let It Snow Silver, Lookout Plan To Open This Week

After salivating over every falling snowflake, skiers finally have two mountains with enough snow to play on.

Kellogg’s Silver Mountain will open limited runs Thursday while Lookout Ski Area will crank up operations Friday.

“We are comfortable saying this marks our official opening for full-time operation,” said Tim Newhart, marketing director for Silver Mountain.

“We are ready to get winter going.”

Storms were stingy with the snow this week, but dropped enough to give Silver Mountain 32 inches up top and 22 inches at midmountain. Lookout has about a foot of snow at the lodge and two feet at the top.

“Depending on if we get more snow this week we will have 40 to 80 percent of the mountain open,” said Dean Cooper, Lookout’s marketing director. “We are a few weeks behind schedule, but at least the ski season’s begun.”

Other area resorts didn’t fare so well. Schweitzer Mountain Resort still has a sparse 6-inch base and officials there doubt a weekend opening will materialize without a major snowstorm.

“We couldn’t open on the snow we have now,” said Tim Hinderman, Schweitzer vice president. “With some more storms this week we would have a fighting chance, but realistically it will take a few days of snow…to get open.”

Schweitzer won’t decide on an opening date until later this week. Chewelah’s 49 Degrees North also needs about a foot of snow before it’s ready for skiers, as does Mount Spokane Ski Area.

“In any given storm, one mountain can be blessed and the others can end up without a thing. This time we have come out on the good end,” Newhart said.

“It’s certainly an advantage to be open first. We will get people who typically ski other mountains to try Silver.”

The past few days, temperatures have dropped enough for Silver to make its own snow and open two runs and two chairlifts by Thursday. Ticket prices will be discounted to $25. The resort needs another 18 inches of snow to open the entire mountain.

The opening is great news for the resort’s 250 employees and local restaurants and motels, which lost business over Thanksgiving due to the lack of snow and skiers, Newhart said.

Schweitzer isn’t panicked yet by the lack of snow. However, the resort’s employees are anxious to get to work.

Schweitzer employs about 500 workers during its peak operation.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo