From the
Philipsburg Mail
December 20, 2012
Snow blows and Discovery goes
by Reecy Pontiff
It's been a slow start to winter but
Discovery Ski Basin has had plenty of snow.
Though they've had some warm spells,
overall it's been a good, cold start to the season according to
Vice President of Resort Operations Ciche Pitcher.
“We feel a whole lot better about
this early season than other years,” Pitcher said, “right now the
skiing is the best we've had it for Christmas.”
For Discovery the good snow started
around their opening date just after Thanksgiving but the last two
weeks have been even better according to Pitcher.
This year the weather was “super dry
into September,” Pitcher said, followed by a big snow storm in late
September and another in October, both of which melted.
“Though we got some precipitation
early in the year, we had some warmer temperatures.”
The weather this fall was typical in
Pitcher's estimation. “It's pretty normal for us to have wide
swings in temperature [in the fall],” though he said, “it's not
very typical to get rain in December.”
“The part that was atypical was the
weekend of December 3rd we had a warm spell... it was
frustrating because we were expecting a big storm, but it created a
good base,” Pitcher said.
The Granite triple chair lift opened
last Monday, meaning the resort is 80-90% operational. The only lift
still closed is the Silver Chief on the “back side” – or
Philipsburg side – of the mountain, whose base is only around 5500
feet. Most of Discovery averages around 6800 feet, according to
Pitcher.
“The front side has great coverage,”
said Ski Patrol Director Brad Legge, “we haven't had a whole lot of
wind to scour the snow out.”
“Any new snow we get now, we should
be in really good shape to keep the runs open,” Legge said.
Due to grooming issues a few trails at
Discovery are yet to be opened, mainly on the Limelight lift on the
back side of Discovery. The runs there are steep and craggy with
little dirt, and the light, fluffy snow they've received has yet to
properly cover the terrain, according to Pitcher.
“Though there's a lot of depth to
[the snow on the back side] there isn't a lot of substance,” said
Pitcher.
It's unusual for Discovery to have this
many trails open before January and Pitcher is pleased with how
winter has treated them so far. Thought they have snow-making
capabilities, Pitcher and Legge both agree they've been fortunate not
to need it this year.
“Having this much terrain open at
Christmas is a real positive,” Pitcher said.
Last Monday Discovery had nine inches
of snow, an “unexpected little dump,” according to Legge.
Pitcher called the early season weather
this year “above par” thus far.
Though weather can be difficult to
anticipate, Legge is optimistic about the short-term future of snow
at Discovery.
“We're in the prevailing weather
pattern, so it looks good for the next few weeks at least,” but
because there's currently no El Nino or La Nina patterns in the
Pacific, “it's hard to make long-term [weather] predictions,”
Legge said.
“Every winter has it's own
personality,” said Pitcher.