Twice the snow, twice the fun as Turner opens
<p>Gary Leonard and Steve Bryant scouted the trails at Turner Mountain last week in preparation for the season opener Saturday, Dec. 22. </p>
It looks like Santa has decided to give the skiers and snowboarders of Lincoln County an early Christmas present. Weather patterns this past week have resulted in a doubling of the base layer at the bottom of Turner Mountain and over a foot of new snow at the top.
As of Thursday afternoon, Turner Mountain had 40-plus inches of snow at the summit and about 30 inches at the base. Nearly 20 inches of snow has fallen since Monday.
“There’s more coming tonight (Thursday night), but it’s supposed to slack off Friday,” said Bruce Zwang, a coordinator at Turner Mountain.
That’s not all folks: The forecast continues to call for more snow. Opening day the ski season – Saturday, Dec. 22 – should be spectacular.
“None of it has been skied yet - it’s untracked,” Zwang said. “Saturday is going to be an epic day. The snow will be phenomenal.”
Last weekend, Turner Mountain Ski Patrol was busy getting prepped for opening day and wrapping up mandatory training including a review of chair lift evacuation procedures. Tower pads were hung with care by the lift line in the hopes that lots of powder soon would be there. Ski patrollers refreshed their skills on the snow and took a few practice laps getting pulled behind snowmobiles and inspecting snow conditions on the way down.
Skiers and snowboarders who head up on opening day can expect excellent and consistent coverage on the Jeep road and over the top half of the mountain. Despite significant amounts of snowfall over the last week, however, skiers should still exercise caution on runs. Early season conditions exist, and there may be unmarked obstacles. As of last Saturday, caution was needed off the groomed runs below the mid-way portion of the mountain and in the trees.
When you head up to Turner Mountain this weekend, please say thank-you to the volunteers who have worked hard to create such an awesome powder paradise. Board members of Kootenai Winter Sports deserve a big thanks, as do the ski patrol members.
If you love skiing trees that have been carefully limbed, say thank-you to the brush-cutting crew led by Tom Ostrowski. If you rent gear, give Perry Stebbins a big thank-you for running the gear shop.
Enjoy the powder, T-bar burgers and community up at Turner this weekend – and stay safe!
See you at the top shack.
— From the Top Shack is a weekly feature written by ski and snowboard enthusiasts who are deeply conflicted over whether it’s better to promote Turner Mountain or keep the whole thing to ourselves. We chose the former, but we’ll probably regret it. If you would like to contribute to this regular feature, please contact Matt Bunk at 293-4124.