Bald Mountain Ski Area In Good Shape For December 26th Opening
Bald Mountain, a community ski hill near Pierce, ID has stated on Facebook that December 26th will be their opening day. WinterReview caught up with General Manager Chris Allen Thursday to confirm the news. “That’s the goal” says Allen. “Right now we are only short about 8 inches at the bottom. We like to have at least two feet.”
Board President, General Manager and Director of Ski Patrol Chris St. Germaine-Allen
Photo Credit: Mountain Rider’s Alliance
Allen says that 24” of snow is needed to open the community ski area. As of today there was a conservative 14” at the base of the mountain. Chris says that at the top “I’ve got a good solid 20 inches and it’s just beautiful, soft, fluffy powder snow. It’s gonna be great”.
Getting that additional 8” of snow should be no problem. A winter storm is tracking through tonight and over the weekend. NOAA forecasts for Pierce, ID show 2 to 4 feet of new snow possible by Monday.
With plenty of time before projected opening day there are more preparations to be made at the community ski hill. An insurance inspection on Tuesday revealed issues that need to be addressed. “We’re going to go up Saturday and work on the issues that the insurance guy identified. But, they’re not show stoppers” Chris said. There are also paths to be cleared, roofs to be shoveled, snow to be groomed and employee paperwork to complete.
Chris Allen volunteers along with other members of the Clearwater Ski Club to keep the hill going. Volunteer schedules are the key factor in setting an opening date. “Those of us that are managers are all volunteers, we have (other jobs) to work.”
The ski area near Pierce, ID has a long history of volunteers excited to help. The area was opened in 1959 and run by volunteers ever since. The land is leased from the Potlatch Corporation, a certified sustainable forestry company. Bald Mountain relies on local volunteers, fundraising events, donations and lift ticket sales to continue operations.
Chris says that her small staff is excited to get to work. “They are messaging me on messenger asking ‘when, when, when?’ ” When asked if she was excited to get the mountain open for skiing she replied “yea, well, You know I am.” The excitement was evident, even over the phone.
Bald Mountain Ski Area serves skiers and snowboarders with one rope tow and one t-bar. They average 100” of snow annually and provide varied terrain for all skill levels. Chris Allen says that “if you can ski here you can ski anywhere. We have all the terrain of bigger mountains, just smaller”.
Bald Mountain Info and Stats
Bald Mountain Website
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Note: General Manager Chris Allen has no relation to Tim Allen, writer.
Tim Allen is writer and editor for WinterReview and covers small ski area news. He can be reached by email at nordictim@gmail.com
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