Lookout Pass Ski Area to open Friday

Skiers and snowboarders already have a reason to rejoice.

Lookout Pass Ski Area announced late Wednesday night that it would open part of the mountain skiers and snowboarders this weekend, making it the first ski area in the region to open.

Recent winter storms have provided the 1,023-acre ski area on the Idaho-Montana border with just enough snow and summertime landscaping work has allowed the mountain to welcome the public with less snow than in years past, said Brian Rosser, Lookout’s assistant general manager.

“We’re super excited,” Rosser said in an interview Wednesday. “We’ve been blessed with a significant amount of natural snow.”

It will be a limited opening – with just one chairlift running and a handful of trails open Friday and more expected to open on Saturday – and the mountain will be closed on weekdays for now.

But it’s welcome news for those anxiously awaiting what they hope will be a robust winter.

“It’s a great sign if places are beginning to open already,” said Laurie Nisbet, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Spokane office.

Forecasters are predicting a La Nina weather pattern this winter, which typically brings colder and wetter conditions to the region. Nisbet said the Climate Prediction Center has predicted a 40% to 50% chance of lower than normal temperatures and higher than normal precipitation from December through February.

A few storm systems have brought snow to higher elevations already this year, though Nisbet said temperatures above freezing likely blunted their impact. Now, though, she said it seems the season has turned and the snow that arrives can hopefully begin building the region’s snowpack.

“We’re hopeful that it will provide a good base, that it’s not going to melt away,” Nisbet said.

The snow is significant enough that the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche has started providing forecasts for avalanche conditions in North Idaho and far northwestern Montana. A forecast for Wednesday warned backcountry travelers enough snow exists at elevations above 4,000 feet to trigger avalanches.

“Whether you’re hunting, hiking, or dusting off your favorite winter travel gear, be sure to pack a transceiver, shovel and probe, and incorporate avalanche considerations into your trip plan,” the forecast says.

Each of the five ski resorts in North Idaho and northeastern Washington have received snow, but none of the others are ready to open. Schweitzer and Silver Mountain in Idaho and 49 Degrees North near Chewelah are planning to open later this month, while Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park is eyeing early December.

Lookout Pass opened in 1935 and is the oldest ski area in Idaho. Opening day on Friday will mark the beginning of its 90th season.

The mountain gets gobs of snow, averaging about 450 inches per year. In the past, it has opened even earlier, but skiing in November is still no guarantee. Last year, the mountain didn’t open until December.

Rosser said that the mountain might still be waiting had it not done major trail maintenance and slope preparation projects this summer. The work will allow the mountain to open with less snow than in years past, though Rosser couldn’t say how much less.

The mountain’s official snow measurements as of Wednesday showed 18 inches at the base and 36 inches at the summit. Sunny weather is expected for the next few days, but a storm is expected to move in over the weekend.

Skiers who head to Lookout Pass this weekend should expect early season conditions and limited offerings.

In a press release, ski area officials wrote that the mountain’s Chair No. 1 will be the only lift running Friday, and that most of the 14 trails on the front of the mountain will be open. Three or four of them will be groomed just before opening, the release said.

On Saturday and Sunday, officials expect to open the Eagle Peak Quad, which serves a higher peak beyond the frontside of the hill. Most of the trails served by that lift are expected to be ready when it opens.

The hill will be closed Monday through Thursday but plans to reopen the following weekend.