Yes, there is snow out there!

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need. I feel like I've heard that somewhere... Anyway, what we want: A few C-130 cargo planes to drop boatloads of snow on us. What we needed: the 6-8" we got last weekend and stable weather patterns for more than two days. It's really helped keep everything fresh out there, and the base depths on our snowmaking trails are quite deep. A few powder runs brought smiles to everyone's faces too, and the sunshine was awesome to see. We're still hoping the heavens will open up soon and help out our natural snow trails (**cough, cough, Timberline... *cough Wilderness**) but for now we're making due with what we've got. If you have any doubts as to whether you can have fun out there, take a look at the photo above, which was taken yesterday around 11:30 on Spillway.

Yep. There's snow out there. Have at it!

Weather:
There's a chance of snow this afternoon extending through the evening. We're not sure about possible accumulation totals, but I've heard anywhere from 1-6" forecasted for our region. I know, right? That doesn't help anybody. Give us a real prediction, weather dudes! Remember how I tried to bribe them with Oreos last week? This time around I stepped up my game and offered cheesecake. They still didn't budge. Any suggestions for next week's bribe?

It's going to be pretty comfortable out there all weekend. Temps should max out around 25-27 degrees today, and may even hit the freezing mark tomorrow. GASP! Alert the media! So ditch the base layers, leave the puffy coats at home and ski like it's February. Because, hey, it is!

How's the snow:
Like I said, there's definitely snow out there. We've totaled nearly two feet since January 15, and this week has seen some of the best surfaces of the season. Seriously! If you love carving, the past 5 days have been absolutely textbook for it. I caught up with a few of our instructors the other day, and they were saying how easy it was to teach carving and turning lessons this week because of the perfect snow surface. Nothing was wind-blown, it wasn't too frozen and definitely not mushy. Now, if you venture off the snowmaking trails, things get a little thin, but hey, that's what p-tex is for, right?

Plan on 33 trails serviced by 4 lifts this weekend. The Grom Park has opened to rave reviews, and I'll be camped up there with my video camera today watching everyone throw down. So, if you wanna get famous, give me a shout.

Snowmaking:
Ok, I know you're all clamoring to hear more about Timberline and when it's going to open. Trust me, we want it just as badly as you do. Originally, we had planned on having that quad up and running today. However, the last super cold front messed with that plan. Just like your pipes at home can freeze in negative temperatures, so can snowmaking pipes, and that's exactly what happened. The long and the short of it is that, despite our team's best efforts, some areas of the Timberline pipe froze and were damaged in the cold snap, which has caused a multi-day delay. We've had crews working 'round the clock to repair it, and snowmaking has now resumed on Timberline Run. So, we won't have it this weekend, but keep an eye on the snow report for its expected opening date. Remember, Sure Shot is already finished, so we're just working on Timberline Run to have a runout back to the lift. Hopefully, we won't see any more curve balls from Mother Nature, and it should be open soon. Thanks for hanging with us on this.

What's going on:

Bolton After Dark: $19 lift tickets TONIGHT, $2 slices and sodas at Fireside Flatbread, and we're showing "Schooled" by Meathead Films.

JMT Entertainment: Lenny Noel live from 8-11pm TONIGHT.

Bolton Bowl: A brand new 52" HDTV, projector screen and 4 other TVs mean you won't miss a minute of the Super Bowl. Whether you're a Broncos fan or a member of Seattle's 12th man, starting at 4pm we've got discounts on food, drink and plenty of free giveaways when you come party with us.

Late Night at Bolton Valley: Every Friday night in February, we'll keep our doors open and the lifts running until 10 p.m. That means you'll have an extra two hours of night skiing on those days. Lift tickets will be just $19 from 7-10 p.m.