Marmot to open 鈥榤ost鈥� of the mountain before the weekend
Marmot Basin saw its first powder day on opening weekend and it hasn't let up. With thigh-high powder, the mountain expects to open the majority of its runs before the weekend.
Over a four-day period last week, Marmot received 65 cm of snow, making for an epic opening weekend.
The snow started falling heavily in the early morning hours of Nov. 15 and didn鈥檛 let up until the late afternoon, depositing 31 cm of fresh snow on the slopes, according to Brian Rode, vice-president of marketing and sales for Marmot.
The skies cleared on Monday for a blue bird day of powder skiing, before the clouds closed in again on Nov. 17 dumping 19 cm of snow. To date Marmot has received 126 cm of snow.
The early snowfall allowed the ski hill to open Paradise Quad Chair and the Canadian Rockies Express Quad Chair on Nov. 17, along with the majority of the runs in the upper portion of the mountain.
According to Rode, the Eagle Ridge Quad Chair is expected to begin operations on Thursday, Nov. 19, which means six out of seven lifts and most of the mountain will be open before the weekend.
鈥淭he snow could not have come at a better time,鈥� said Rob Ellen, Marmot Basin鈥檚 mountain manager, in a press release.
鈥淲e opened on Saturday with good skiing on six runs in the lower mountain. On our second day of operation we got walloped by a huge snow blizzard and now we will get most of the mountain open, and it is only Nov. 16.鈥�
The snowy conditions bode well for Marmot, which had some of the best skiing in all of North America last year.
鈥淥ur high base elevation and location in the northern Rockies gives us an advantage when it comes to getting consistently good snow conditions, even when temperatures are forecast to be warmer than normal, such as is the case during an El Nino year,鈥� said Rode in a press release.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 get rain at our elevation, we get dry snow, perfect for powder skiing.鈥�
For up to date conditions, stay tuned to Marmot Basin鈥檚 website at www.skimarmot.com or follow along on Facebook.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
