Favorable conditions surprise skiers on opening day

Skiers and boarders waited a little longer this year to hit the slopes at Whitefish Mountain Resort, but four Columbia Falls High School students didn’t waste a single second getting up the mountain.

Anthony Tatum, Lane Anello, Keyaunn Wood and Payton Douglas secured the first chair up Big Mountain on Thursday morning — their third year in a row getting the first spot in the lift line for the start of the season.

The teenagers waited 10 and a half hours, between the lift line and the Cedar Lot, to claim their spot.

They slept in their cars on Wednesday night just to make sure they’d be first in line.

Despite their dedication, they were casual about their commitment to first place.

“I don’t know,” Tatum said, shrugging, as he thought about the reason he and his friends feel the need to keep their streak alive.

“We might as well,” Anello agreed.

The decision to start the ski season on Thursday wasn’t an easy one for officials at Whitefish Mountain Resort, who made the difficult choice to postpone opening day from Tuesday, Dec. 7 due to a lack of snow.

It was the first time in 10 years the mountain opted to delay its opening. In 2011, the resort originally planned to open on Dec. 3 but ended up waiting a week before getting underway.

On Tuesday, Whitefish Public Relations Manager Chad Sokol warned Thursday would be a “moving target,” and it wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that the resort announced it would be opening Thursday after all.

The start of the season was a slow one, with just a few chairs and limited terrain opening.

Chairs 1, 5, 6, 7 and the T-Bar were open Thursday, but slopes normally served by many of those runs remained closed with minimal snow coverage.

Eight trails were open on the back side of the mountain, including just one green circle beginner slope. Lodi, Lynx and Trapper’s Trail were open on the way to the T-Bar.

Russ’ Street opened in the afternoon to give riders an opportunity to get down the front side of the mountain. Otherwise, skiers and boarders used Chair 6 to download back to the parking lots.

Skiers were impressed with the conditions they found Thursday.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Sue Napel after her first run down Caribou. “It was really good.”

“The snow is soft. That was a sweet run,” she added.

Gary Napel said the couple had no qualms about coming up for opening day, no matter the snowpack. “We were ready to go Tuesday,” he said.

Other early birds shared the Napels’ enthusiasm.

“I’ve just been praying for snow for three weeks,” said Chris Pound. “I was just ready to get up here.”

“I’m totally stoked,” his friend Marc Lee agreed.

Despite the 12-degree temperature and low visibility at the summit, their friend Chris Rietzel added, “it’s a beautiful day.”

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 406-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.