Minus 39 degrees forecasted at Big Mountain opener

Skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes on opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort this Saturday will have access to nearly 100 percent of the terrain on Big Mountain, including Hellroaring Basin.

This marks the first time in the 17 years since Hellroaring Basin had a chairlift that it will be accessible for skiing on opening day.

With a settled base of 53 inches at the summit and 21 inches in the village, the resort will open with top-to-bottom skiing.

“The snow coverage this year is amazing, and crews have gone above and beyond working additional hours to prepare for what will be remembered as one of our biggest opening days in resort history,” Whitefish Mountain Resort president Dan Graves said.

Chairs 2, 3, 6 and the Big Easy Carpet will start running at 9 a.m., and Chair 1 will start running at 9:30 a.m. Chairs 7 and 8 will start running at 10 a.m.

The only factor keeping the resort from opening 100 percent is downed timber left from cutting new runs on the north side near Flower Point. Due to piles of cut timber, T-bar 2 will not run on Saturday.

“We are one storm away from seeing those covered in snow,” Graves added.

The FishBowl terrain park will have a few features set up in the Chair 3 area.

Snowmaking crews have been busy all week taking advantage of cold weather. They are focusing efforts on lower Toni Matt, the lift plaza area and the Base Lodge area.

The weather forecast is calling for continued colder than normal temperatures this weekend. The high on Saturday is projected to be minus 3 at the summit. Temperatures in the morning could be as low as minus 16, with wind chill values of minus 39.

“We’d like to remind everyone to keep an eye on each other this weekend. With all the snow, guests need to be especially aware of tree wells and stay with a buddy and keep them in sight,” ski patrol director Tary King said. “With the cold temperatures, watch for signs of frostbite and take breaks to warm up inside. We remind our guests to ski and ride with care, within their ability levels, and to remember early season conditions exist — unmarked obstacles and other natural terrain features may be encountered at any time.”