Snow comes just in time for area ski hills and skiers

By KELLYN BROWN, Chronicle Staff Writer

Stephen Keable peered out a window in the Saddle Peak Lodge at Bridger Bowl Tuesday. Light snow was falling outside.

"We still have a lot of good days left," he said confidently.

Keable and other area skiers have been waiting for the powder to return since mid-January, when the weather turned unseasonably warm across the region and didn't let up for several weeks.

A spattering of ski resorts, especially west of Bozeman, were forced to close, or operate on a limited basis. There simply wasn't enough snow, and the snow that fell was melting quickly.

Compared to other regional resorts, this area was fortunate. Bridger Bowl, Big Sky and Moonlight Basin kept all their lifts open, offering some of the best skiing in the state.

But 24-year-old Keable, who is accustomed to the spoils of consistent deep powder, said even here there was some grumbling.

"In January, everyone said it would dump in February," Keable said. "But it never happened."

Few people expected a late-March cold front, bringing with it belated powder days and some of the best skiing of the season during spring break.

Keable said it came just in time.

"You walk around Bozeman and feel the vibe," Keable said. "Everyone is snow stoked."

The late winter has even lifted the spirits of employees at area resorts. Randi Bresciani, who works group sales at Bridger Bowl, said seeing the snow falling is "like seeing sunshine in the summer time."

"If we didn't love the winter, we wouldn't be here," she added.

Bridger Bowl relies more heavily on ticket sales than its counterparts. And Bresciani said the recent snowfall was like a "shot in the arm."

Ten inches of new snow can mean 1,000 more skiers on a weekday and about 600 more skiers on a weekend, which results in thousands of dollars in increased revenue.

Bresciani pointed out, however, that even without the late snow, Bridger Bowl had prepared for a dry season. It's all part of running a business that relies on something as unpredictable as weather.

This year, until recently, the only consistent weather was the warm air that kept blowing over the region.

In January, a moist subtropical air flow called the "Pineapple Express" flowed across much the Inland Northwest. Temperatures soared to record highs and the only moisture resulted in rain on the mountains.

Ski resorts in Washington temporarily closed and shut down for good earlier this month. The governor in that state declared the dry winter resulted in the worst drought in more than 28 years.

Montana fared a little better. But even Gov. Brian Schweitzer predicted a nasty fire season because of lack of moisture.

In other parts of this state, resorts are already turning skiers away. Snowbowl and the Great Divide are closed weekdays due to lack of snow. Big Mountain announced it will shut down Sunday, two weeks earlier than scheduled.

Just the opposite is happening here.

Bresciani said that because of the recent snowfall, there's a chance Bridger will extend its season past April 3. And to encourage late-season skiing, the resort will offer free skiing to 2003/2004 season pass holders from March 28 through the end of the season.

"I think we have to be thankful for what we had this year," Keable said.

With the recent snowfall, locals are thinking about skiing and snowboarding again.

"That's been one of the biggest challenges this year," Hilary Fetter, communications manager at Moonlight Basin, said. "Convincing everyone in Bozeman, even before the recent snowfall, the skiing wasn't all that bad."

It looks like winter again, and Fetter said the number of daily skiers at her resort has tripled in the past couple of weeks.

And, like Keable, she said the snow fell just in time.

"There were people ready to throw in the towel," Fetter said. "It's helped everything from employee morale to skier visits."

The powder attracted Jason Balkenbush, 19, back to the mountain.

"It was crappy for a while," Balkenbush said. "But it's way nice to see the snow now."

Kellyn Brown is at kbrown@dailychronicle.com

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