New snow helps local ski resorts

| December 25, 2007 1:00 AM

The Daily Inter Lake

Area ski resorts got their white Christmas and then some, thanks to a special delivery from Mother Nature.

Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain picked up six inches of snow Sunday night and Monday morning, bringing the settled snow base at the summit to 59 inches. There's a 25-inch base in the village.

The resort on Saturday opened Chair 11, the lift servicing the 1,200 vertical feet of Hellroaring Basin.

Whitefish Mountain Resort is now 100 percent open.

Night skiing begins Wednesday and continues every day through New Year's Eve, from 4 to 8:30 p.m.; after that it continues Friday and Saturday evenings through the season.

BLACKTAIL Mountain Ski Area reported five inches of new snow Sunday night to Monday morning, with a settled base of 34 inches at midmountain. About 90 percent of Blacktail's terrain is open and all lifts are in operation.

The National Weather Service is predicting partly sunny skies today, with a high of 31 degrees. Tonight, there's a 40 percent chance of snow.