Heavy snowfall returns Turner to its previous glory
<p>With heavy snowfall at Turner Mountain during the past two weeks, the mountain has recovered from a month of warm weather and melting snow.</p>
The past two weeks of heavy snow in the mountains broke a trend of warm weather that was threatening to close Turner Mountain earlier than planned.
The ski area received six new inches of snow this week, in addition to about 12 inches of new snow the week before.
The new snow covered up the ice and isolated spots near the base of the mountain where dirt was peeking through. Now, the mountain has a deep layer of powder that looks and feels a lot like opening day. As of press time, the base had 32 inches of snow cover, while the peak had 51 inches.
“The snow coverage is really good,” said Bruce Zwang, president of Kootenai Winter Sports. “It isn’t over yet. We still haven’t even gotten to the good spring skiing.”
Besides nice terrain and wide-open runs, Turner Mountain has another awesome thing going for it. Turner is a nonprofit volunteer-run organization offering numerous opportunities for volunteerism. When you donate your time to Turner Mountain, this organization rewards your support with discounts on tickets or passes and other bonuses such as being eligible for pro-form discounts on gear. If you’ve got the desire to support this kind of organization, you can be sure that your efforts will be rewarded.
The brush crew led by Tom Ostrowski is responsible for keeping the forest from encroaching on designated runs and for limbing trees to create opportunities for gladed tree skiing. The brush crew does most of their work at the end of summer and into fall. This year’s crew includes 11 people. Brush cutting can be hard work, but it is one way to get your legs in shape before ski season begins.
The groomer operators have another tough job that involves running the groomers in the early hours of the morning before Turner opens to the public. There are six groomer operators at Turner. Most of the operators go above and beyond in their donation of time to Turner Mountain and greatly exceed the minimum number of days required to earn a season pass.
Ski patrollers are perhaps the most visible group of volunteers at Turner. There are 16 full-time patrollers this season and 16 alternate patrollers. Patrol work starts at the end of summer with chairlift evacuation training, first-aid and scenario training. Patrollers then continue their training on the mountain, learning such skills as how to operate toboggans for rescuing injured skiers and preparing to deal with a variety of accidents in the snow. Individuals with medical training are always helpful to have on patrol.
Turner Mountain is a pretty big place to run with a crew of volunteers. Zwang estimates that more than 10,000 volunteer hours are put into making Turner run each year. For the 2013-2014 season, there is a need for volunteers to assist with the groups mentioned above, maintaining the chair lift, buildings and groomers, working the ski swap and helping with Turner Mountain Fun Night. If you’re interested in supporting Turner Mountain, contact Bruce Zwang at contact@skiturner.com.