Blacktail opening brings frigid temps, warm smiles
<p>Dillon Graham, left, and Brandon McCurdy cut through fresh snow on Pochelon's Powder on Friday, opening day at Blacktail Mountain. (Seaborn Larson/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Opening day at Blacktail Mountain saw a host of faithful hometown-hill skiers and snowboarders, despite -9 degree temperatures. (Seaborn Larson/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Opening day at Blacktail on Friday, Dec. 16 saw a host of faithful hometown-hill skiers, despite -9 degree temperatures. (Seaborn Larson/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Opening day at Blacktail Mountain saw a host of faithful powder hounds despite temperatures at 9 below zero.
But with cold temperatures keeping the snow dry through the last week, the opening-day powder did not disappoint.
“We go where the snow is,” Sammy Scott said. “If there’s powder, we go.”
Scott and her twin sister, Kay Ainslie, made the morning trip up from Ronan for opening day. The duo has been skiing together for nearly 60 years. On Friday, they found a fresh 36-inch base at Blacktail built up mostly during the last two weeks. Temperatures stayed below zero throughout the day, but that didn’t slow the enthusiasm.
“Even though it’s cold, we’re here,” Ainslie proudly said.
A younger generation also braved the cold to get some first-day jibs. Friends Cole McManaway, Rhett Phillips, Benjamin Richmond and Alec Buckels at 9:30 a.m. were headed for the terrain park.
“We want to hit the box jumps, the rails and get high on those jumps,” McManaway said, eager to get down the hill.
For more information, visit www.BlacktailMountain.com.
Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.