Blacktail opening brings frigid temps, warm smiles
Dillon Graham, left, and Brandon McCurdy cut through the opening-day snow on Pochelon’s Powder at Blacktail Mountain. (Photos by Seaborn Larson/Daily Inter Lake)
Blacktail Mountain employees ride the lifts during opening day on Dec. 9.
Twin sisters Kay Ainslie and Sammy Scott traveled from Ronan for opening day at Blacktail Mountain.
Opening day at Blacktail Mountain saw a host of faithful powder hounds despite temperatures at 9 below zero.
But with cold temperatures keeping the snow dry through the last week, the opening-day powder did not disappoint.
“We go where the snow is,” Sammy Scott said. “If there’s powder, we go.”
Scott and her twin sister, Kay Ainslie, made the morning trip up from Ronan for opening day. The duo has been skiing together for nearly 60 years. On Friday, they found a fresh 36-inch base at Blacktail built up mostly during the last two weeks. Temperatures stayed below zero throughout the day, but that didn’t slow the enthusiasm.
“Even though it’s cold, we’re here,” Ainslie proudly said.
A younger generation also braved the cold to get some first-day jibs. Friends Cole McManaway, Rhett Phillips, Benjamin Richmond and Alec Buckels at 9:30 a.m. were headed for the terrain park.
“We want to hit the box jumps, the rails and get high on those jumps,” McManaway said, eager to get down the hill.
For more information, visit www.BlacktailMountain.com.