WINTERSPORTS -- Snowshoers walked into 2015 by making first tracks in Mount Spokane State Park.

Holly Weiler led a group of six Spokane Mountaineers on Wednesday to celebrate New Years Eve on the summit, where they watched Spokane fireworks.  The group romped in the darkness with snowshoe hares, returning to the parking area around 1:30 a.m.

It was a short night for Weiler, who returned to Mount Spokane at 10 a.m. Thursday to co-lead a group of 25 for the state park's First Day snowshoe trek.

A couple of hikers went to the summit while most of the group made tracks to the CCC cabin over a five-mile loop back to the parking area.

Cris Currie of the Friends of Mount Spokane State Park, who co-led the First Day snowshoe trek, says skiers and snowhoers should find excellent snow conditions in the park this weekend.

After touring the Trails 110-140 loop on Wednesday, he said skiing/snowshoeing was great. "Plenty of snow on the trail, but off trail still needs another foot or so. The loop is all tracked with no significant dead fall."

The upper creek crossing is still a pain, he said, but a fix for that could be addressed this year.