Let it snow, let it snow…

Inland Northwest skiers are hoping a couple of friends might follow Old St. Nick into town this Christmas Day.

Like Old Man Winter. Or Jack Frost.

“This is a bummer. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas,” said Tom Brown, owner of Coeur d’Alene’s Shred Shed.

During a good winter season, Brown would be busy Christmas week tuning or waxing snowboards. So far, though, the winter season has been anything but wintry. With little work to do, Brown sat behind the counter of his store Thursday, looking incredibly bored.

Local ski hills are hoping a winter storm warning for Christmas Day will blanket the hills, covering bare spots and rocks and twigs and giving a boost to business. Only one local resort – Lookout Pass – had enough snow to open on Thanksgiving weekend. The other resorts have since opened, but many still don’t have enough snow to open all their lifts and runs.

Some are offering discount tickets to lure business to the slopes.

Schweitzer spokeswoman Lisa Gerber said a blast of snow earlier this month teased skiers into thinking the season had arrived. Then, three inches of rain fell in a single day. Schweitzer’s snow was all but ruined, she said.

“That first week was awesome,” said Brad McQuarrie, general manager for Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park. “The skiers talk about it being one of the best ski days they’ve ever had. It was knee-deep powder. The sun was shining.

“We’ve been waiting two weeks since then.”

Robbie Powell is an avid snowboarder, usually hitting the hills three to four times a week or more than 100 times each season.

Last weekend, he went to Schweitzer and found himself dodging rocks.

“It was dirt at the base,” he said. “Light coverage.”

Discouraged by his first couple visits this season, Powell said he has decided to wait for better snow.

“It’s unfortunate for all winter recreationists,” said Powell, who also has a brand new snowmobile parked in his yard. He hasn’t yet had a chance to test it out.

Though business has been off to a slow start, it could always be worse, said an optimistic McQuarrie.

He said the skiers and boarders that have come to the mountain aren’t complaining. The resort’s ski school is in full swing – beginners don’t really know the difference between skiing on 10 inches or 5 feet, he said.

Bill Melvin, a member of the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol, said coverage is limited and “spring-like.”

“Even though it’s limited, it seems like people are really having fun,” Melvin said. “The people who are out skiing are really enjoying themselves. The hard-cores are still out there and up in the mountain doing their thing.”

Melvin said avid skiers like himself are used to the unpredictability of winter sporting.

“There’s no control over this,” he said. “It’s kind of like farming.”