Blacktail opening delayed

Warm weather has led to a delay in the season opener for Blacktail Mountain Ski Area near Lakeside.

The ski area had been scheduled to open today, but snow conditions aren't adequate yet.

Blacktail managers "hoped for more snow this week but it hasn't shown up. We really want to have quality snow for the public to ski on, and we cannot guarantee that at this time," general manager Steve Spencer said in a press release Thursday.

"We are on a day-to-day basis for an opening day. As soon as we get more snow, we will open."

As of Thursday, Blacktail had 23 inches of snow at mid-mountain, but had received only one inch of new snow in the past seven days.

Blacktail has no snowmaking equipment, so it relies on natural snowfall.

Daily updates on Blacktail are available on the Web site www.blacktailmountain.com