Ski season still rolling in North Idaho, Eastern Washington

There have been some solid powder days this season at Lookout Pass Ski Area, way up on the Idaho-Montana border.

There were good days last year, too, but this season has definitely been better, said Matt Sawyer, director of marketing at Lookout.

Just look at the snow totals. As of Wednesday, with a little less than a month left in their operating season, the hill had 422 inches of snow – short of their average, but 30 inches more than they saw for all of last winter.

“It’s been strong,” Sawyer said.

That’s what ski hill operators were looking for out of this winter season. A La Niña weather pattern had been predicted, which tends to bring above-average snow into the mountains.

Charlotte Dewey, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said that some areas have seen above average precipitation, but that it appeared to be a “weaker” La Niña than in the past.

“We didn’t quite see the above-normal precipitation like we were expecting to,” Dewey said.

It has arrived at times. For example, the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe river basins in North Idaho received 110% of their normal precipitation in February, according to the March 1 Idaho Water Supply Outlook Report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. That followed a dry January, however, which means the basin was still below average on the year.

Still, the winter has provided for skiers and snowboarders, and the action started relatively early. Lookout, 49 Degrees North, Schweitzer, Silver Mountain and Mt. Spokane all opened in November.

Now the resorts are in good shape for those who love spring skiing conditions and the seesawing weather pattern of March. Tuesday and Wednesday were good days for goggle tans, but cooling temperatures and precipitation are on the way. Dewey said there could be snow at higher elevations this weekend.

The five resorts within a two-hour drive of Spokane are planning to stay open into April, some longer than others.

At Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park, the last full day – complete with a pond skim – is set for April 12. The next day, the lifts will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and everyone who shows up will ski free. Until then, the mountain plans to be open Wednesdays through Sundays, according to its website.

Schweitzer, in Sandpoint, is scheduled to close the same day. Silver Mountain in Kellogg will offer some limited skiing daily through April 13 and plans to have limited skiing again the following weekend, putting its official closing day on April 20.

49 Degrees North’s website says the resort plans to stay open “as long as conditions allow.” The mountain was closed Wednesday and Thursday this week and plans to close next Wednesday and Thursday, too.

But after that, it’s expected to be open from April 4 to April 14, with partial weeks planned after that.

Lookout’s final day will be April 20, even if conditions would allow them to go later. A snowmobile race is planned shortly thereafter, and then staff will have to get to work on preparing the Route of the Hiawatha for the summer riding season.

There will still be ways to get skiing or snowboarding after the local spots are closed. Crystal Mountain, in the Cascades, is planning to stay open on weekends through Memorial Day.

Backcountry skiers and snowmobilers will likely still be in the woods. Late-season snow can present complex avalanche conditions, however, so they’ll need to keep an eye on the weather and review avalanche forecasts.

On Wednesday, the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center listed avalanche danger as “considerable in the Selkirks, West Cabinets and the Silver Valley. The forecast said multiple days with above freezing temperatures, sunshine and melted snow means loose, wet snow can slide. Triggering one loose wet slide could trigger more dangerous slabs.