Sun Valley skiing has been firm and fast the last several weeks, and Mother Nature has not freshened things up.
That said, snowmaking efforts on Bald and Dollar mountains should keep skiing and snowboarding in good shape through Presidents' Day weekend and beyond, said Sun Valley Co. snowmaking supervisor Dennis Harper.
"It's doing really well right now because of the recent (6 inches of) snow we had. It's skiing really good," Harper said. "I'm getting a lot of comments from people on the mountain who are amazed that it skis as well as it does with what little snow it has."
The Presidents' Day holiday is typically among the busiest of the winter ski season. With bookings solid, Sun Valley Marketing and Public Relations Director Jack Sibbach said this year should be typical as long as sunny skies prevail.
Last Presidents' Day weekend, skier numbers at Sun Valley exceeded expectations in the midst of a strong cold snap, drawing between 5,000 and 6,000 skiers each of the three days. But last year was a huge snow year compared with this season's 68 percent of average snowpack in the Wood River Valley.
What's between the written lines, however, is that skier numbers are generally dictated by the sun, not snow.
"A lot of the skier count will also rely on the weather," Sibbach said. "If we have sunny weather, I expect some big days. If we have cloudy weather, even snowy weather, we will probably have 25 to 30 percent less."
Sibbach spent most of last Sunday skiing on Baldy and said both on- and off-piste runs were good.
"I think we're in good shape, especially the snowmaking runs," he said. "I thought it was great skiing on Sunday. The snow was great. It was fun, both on and off piste. You've got to be careful on some runs. There are some rocks showing, but it was an excellent day of skiing.
Snowmaking has in fact been hindered in recent weeks by unseasonably warm temperatures.
"Temperatures have kind of slowed us down quite a bit," Harper said. "We had a pretty much solid week where we couldn't make snow at all. Then the last three days we've had a couple good days of snowmaking. Even though it's not huge production, it's still getting something out there on top that makes the skiing good."
What it all means is that this weekend's anticipated crowds should not be a problem.
"Bring 'em on," Harper said.
Across Idaho and throughout most of the Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Cascades, snow accumulations are below long-term averages. Idaho snowpacks range from 50 percent of average in the southwest mountains to 84 percent of average in the northern panhandle. Oregon snowpacks range from 3 percent of average in the coast range to 92 percent of average in the Hood River area.
The National Weather Service is predicting snow this week, but those predictions are vague, calling simply for "isolated snow showers" with "accumulations possible."
The snowpack in the Wood River Valley is 68 percent of average for this time of year, as views from Bald Mountain indicate. Groomed skiing is hard, fast and good, while the trees, south slopes and other off-piste runs need a healthy shot in the arm from Mother Nature to come back into form.
Photo by Willy Cook
