Skiers, boarders hit Turner Mountain slopes

Skiers and boarders took to the slopes this past weekend after Turner Mountain Ski Area announced that it had accumulated enough snow to open up for the season.

About 9 inches of fresh snow coated the mountain over the New Year, bringing the base up to 18 inches and the summit up to 29 inches, enough to welcome skiers and boarders on Saturday. The base still has a little ways to go for the best experience – it was at 24 inches on opening day last year – but skiing at the top was ideal.

Opening day drew the largest crowd of the weekend, but like always, there was no line at the chair lift. Four or five carloads of out-of-towners – mostly from Kalispell and Whitefish – enjoyed the New Year snow alongside locals.

Families, clusters of teenagers and Turner veterans – the ones who could navigate the runs blind – also gathered Sunday.

Bill Pepper’s face glistened with sweat as he removed climbing skins from the bottom of his skis, taking a brief break in the ski patrol’s warming hut at the summit. The weekend opening meant less to him than others, as he and friends have been climbing up the back and skiing down since early December.

“It’s a good cardiovascular workout,” he said as he marched out the door to take advantage of the 40 acres of tree skiing on the backside of the mountain.

Eight-year-old Paige Chapel could also be seen Sunday gliding down the mountain – her pink coat and snow pants, and her purple helmet and goggles providing a stark contrast to the groomed white snow and gray sky. The fog had drifted in and out during the day but her outfit would make it difficult for her mother and ski partner, Jeri Ann Chapel, to lose sight of her.

Paige’s brother, 11-year-old Mason, accompanied his family on their first day of the season, though he snowboarded with a friend.  

Jeri Ann and Paige took a lunch break in the afternoon, sharing homemade ham-and-cheese sandwiches, potato chips and cookies at the lodge. Jeri Ann said she would have brought her kids on opening day, but it was raining south of Troy, and she didn’t expect good skiing conditions.

Paige said that “powdery” snow is the best for skiing and that she has skied since she was 4 years old, beating her brother by one year, since he didn’t begin until he was 5. Her mom said she takes them nearly every weekend of the season.

“It’s so good for the kids,” Jeri Ann said. “Otherwise they’ll spend all day playing on their (video) games.”