Schweitzer Mountain Resort plans Saturday opening

Schweitzer Mountain Resort near Sandpoint is scheduled to open for the season at 9 a.m. Saturday, the first Inland Northwest ski resort to get chairlifts humming.

Only the Basin Express chairlift will be open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and limited terrain will be available. As of Wednesday the ski village only had 5 inches of natural snow, but the resort has been making snow during the recent cold weather, according to a news release. Another 5 to 9 inches of snow is expected tonight.

Lift tickets will be offered at the reduced price of $40 and children age 6 and under will ski free. A winter storm watch is in effect Friday and Saturday for the mountains in northeastern Washington and North Idaho, said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Bodnar, and chances are excellent that ski resorts will benefit. Steady snow is expected to begin Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday.

“It looks like we’ll get about 8 to 12 inches up there,” Bodnar said. “As you get farther east toward Idaho, snow levels will be rising to about 4,000 feet.”

Thanksgiving is the usual opening day for 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort near Chewelah, Washington. It is anticipating between 5 and 12 inches of snow this weekend. An opening date has not yet been set.

Silver Mountain Resort near Kellogg is scheduled to open Nov. 28. The resort is forecast to get between 9 and 16 inches of snow this weekend.

The Lookout Pass ski area is reporting 3 inches of snow at the base and 7 inches at the summit. The resort needs another foot of snow before it can open. The forecast calls for between 11 and 21 inches of snow on the mountain this weekend.

Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park, which has not announced an opening date, is expecting between 7 and 14 inches of snow in the next few days.