Ski season has arrived, at least at Blacktail Mountain.
With a 32-inch base of snow, the ski area above Lakeside announced it will open on Saturday, Dec. 10. All three chair lifts will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After this weekend the mountain will be open Wednesdays through Sundays and then seven days a week between Dec. 15 and Jan. 2.
Whitefish Mountain Resort, which was scheduled to open on Dec. 3 but did not because of a lack of snow, will open as soon as possible, resort officials have said. According to the mountain’s snow report, there is a 25-inch base.
“Given our current conditions, we feel like we’re one good snowstorm away from having a solid enough base depth at the bottom of chair 7 to open that area of the mountain,” the report reads.
Turner Mountain near Libby reports there are 18 inches of snow on the top and only six inches at the bottom. The mountain opened around Christmas break last year.