Blacktail Mountain opens on Saturday

Turner Mountain near Libby hopes to open Dec. 21

The Daily Inter Lake

Blacktail Mountain Ski Area begins its 10th year as the Lakeside resort opens Saturday for the season.

A midmountain base of 22 inches will enable the resort to open the upper half of the mountain, general manager Steve Spencer said.

"We'll be opening the upper half only until we get more snow," he said. "And it will be great skiing at the top. We have an awful good base."

Lifts on opening day will include all of Olympic, the Handle Tow and the upper half of Thunderhead. Lifts will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Blacktail added snowmaking equipment at the lodge three years ago, but its use is limited to the immediate lodge area, Spencer said.

Shuttle buses begin running Saturday.

Brown Bear Charters starts at Mike's Conoco in Columbia Falls and makes stops in Whitefish, Kalispell, Somers and Lakeside before heading up to the ski area. Flathead Skate and Snow offers bus service from Polson.

Schedules and prices for both bus services are posted on Blacktail's Web site, www.blacktailmountain.com

Blacktail is open Wednesdays through Sundays except for Dec. 20 through Jan. 1, when it is open every day.

TURNER MOUNTAIN Ski Resort near Libby tentatively plans to open on Dec. 21.

A resort spokesman said the area got a fair amount of snow earlier this month, but rain and warmer weather hampered base building on the slopes.

The Web site, at www.skiturner.com, posts a summit depth of 30 inches, with 15 inches at the base.

Once Turner opens, it will be open daily through the holidays, but is closed on Christmas Day. After Jan. 1, the resort will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week through the season.