Lookout Pass opens for season

As soon as I see the first snowflakes of the year hit the ground, my thoughts immediately turn to the upcoming ski season and the days seem to drag as I anxiously await the opening of the ski resort. Turns out I'm not the only one.

More than 3,000 people have hit the slopes of the Lookout Pass Ski Resort since it opened Nov. 29, according to Brian Pearson, the administrator and communication manager for the resort. Pearson said that it was an "absolutely fantastic" start to their season, featuring a higher amount of people than usual. "It shows that there was a lot of pent-up demand for people wanting to enjoy the snow," he said.

Those who made it to Lookout Pass, located off Interstate 90 along the Montana/Idaho border, could see why the resort claims to get an average of 400 inches of snow and has the region's most frequent powder conditions. Pearson said about five feet of snow has fallen on the resort since Thursday. Pearson said that this is not uncommon for the area, and that he thinks the resort gets more snow than any other local resort. "I can't think of anybody that gets more," he said.

The lift lines to the resort got a little crowded, but if the snow continues to fall, that should help alleviate the problem, said Pearson. He said the resort only had one lift open that accessed about 16 runs. He said they plan to open the Montana lift around Dec. 6 and the new North Star lift in about two weeks.

He said the North Star lift, which the resort put in this summer, covers the steepest terrain of the resort.

"This is where people have been begging to ski," he said. The lift will add six new runs to resort - three intermediate and three advanced - for a total of 540 acres of skiable terrain.

Justin Adams, a snowboarder from Missoula, was happy with the resort as it was. On a gloomy Sunday, where sunlight never peaked through the gray sky, the snow didn't stop falling and the wind continued to howl, Adams felt at home. "I couldn't think of a better place to be," he said.

Adams and three of his friends woke up early and drove from Missoula to get to Lookout Pass. He said that he has been snowboarding for over six years and always tries to make it to the opening of the ski resort. "It's kind of like a holiday for us," he said. Even though the weather was far from ideal and it took a little extra time to get to the resort because of the treacherous road conditions on Interstate 90, Adams said it was worth it. "Definitely, it's always worth it," he said.

According to the Lookout Pass Web site, www.skilookout.com, the resort has operated every winter season since 1935 and is the original Idaho ski area, having documented skiing and a home-made rope tow in 1935. The resort has a 1,150-foot vertical drop with a summit elevation of 5,650 feet and a base elevation of 4,500 feet.