First three weeks draw big crowds to Turner Mountain

The first three weeks of Turner Mountain’s ski season drew about 1,500 skiers and snowboarders to the slopes, marking a significant increase compared to years past. 

The big numbers were due in large part to the great amount of snow that fell in mid-December. The ski area kicked off the season Dec. 22 with about 30 inches of snow at the bottom of the mountain and more than 40 inches at the top – about twice as much snow as usual on opening day.

“When we have good snow during the holiday week, the number of visitors is always high,” said Bruce Zwang, president of Kootenai Winter Sports. “This year, the conditions were unbelievable.”

Turner has been open 14 days so far this year. On opening day, the ski area recorded 258 visitors. It has attracted an average of about 100 visitors every day since then. 

“We had a lot of out-of-towners over the holidays, primarily Canadians,” Zwang said. “It was the opening day crowd that really pushed us over the top.”

Last year, Turner Mountain lacked snow early in the season and was unable to open until early January. In 2010-2011, the ski area opened on Dec. 11 with a first-day crowd of 195.

Season ticket sales this year were down compared to the historic average, but more people than expected purchased multiple-day passes while they were on sale prior to Christmas, Zwang said. 

So far, the best snow conditions were during the first week. Light snowfall since then has kept the snow depth at similar levels as opening day. 

Warm weather and rain at low altitudes this week led to concerns that Turner Mountain’s snow base would harden and shrink. Instead, temperatures on the mountain stayed low enough to avoid melting and ensured that precipitation came in the form of snow. 

As of press time Thursday, Turner had received eight inches of new snow at the top and six inches at the bottom, Zwang said. 

The new snow and a hurried effort to repair some damaged equipment means this weekend should be another great chance to hit the slopes and relax in the lodge. 

A water pump associated with lodge’s main generator stopped working last week, which meant there were no lights in the lodge last weekend. A small, backup generator kept the kitchen running with enough power to continue serving Turner Mountain’s famous T-Bar Burgers. 

On Tuesday, Kootenai Winter Sports installed a new water pump and fixed the generator. So, the lights will be on, the snow will be fresh and the lift lines will be short as always. See you at the top shack. 

If you would like to contribute to this regular feature, please contact Matt Bunk at 293-4124.

(Matt Bunk is publisher of the Western News.)