Recent storms slow travelers, help skiers
ALBION, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Recent winter storms have made travel treacherous in some parts of the Gem State, but they’ve also been a difference-maker for skiers and snowboarders.
At mountains like Cassia County’s Pomerelle, recent snowfall has blanketed the slopes with nearly 30 inches of powder.
“It’s just kept coming,” mountain manager Zack Alexander said. “It turned on and it hasn’t stopped all week, and we’re really grateful for it.”
According to Alexander, it’s set up one of the better opening weekends they’ve had.
“The snow has just been phenomenal, it’s holding up really, really well. And yesterday we had a great crowd, they chewed it up and very, very minimal dirt or anything showing,” he said. “It’s just really, really good coverage. Really consistent from one side of the mountain to the other.”
Even with Friday’s large season-opening crowd, skiers and snowboarders were still making fresh tracks Saturday.
“Lots of good powder,” snowboarder Zack Lugo said of the weekend conditions.
Saturday was Lugo’s first day out on the mountain and only a few runs in, he has high expectations for the season.
“I expect a lot of snow, maybe some park, we’ll see,” he said. “Good times with the bros.”
Saturday was only the second day Pomerelle has been open this year, still, the resort has nearly 75 percent of its 24 runs open.
“The only thing we haven’t really opened yet is our bowl, which you can’t see today,” Alexander said. “The bowl is closed and some of the tree skiing, the tree runs, are obviously closed and will be until we get a little bit more snow.”
It’s safe to say things are looking bright for the season, especially if you plan to go night skiing.
“We just updated all of our night lights. So our night skiing, we went from an old 1,500-watt halogen bulb to a beautiful 300-watt magnetic induction bulb,” Alexander explained, “and the lighting is just phenomenal.”
The resort will only be open on weekends until Dec. 21, when they’ll start running the lifts every day. Night skiing is slated to start on Dec. 26 and will run Tuesday-Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
