Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff opened today, on Christmas, after this week's snowfall created good conditions.
“The snow came in very wet and heavy; the ideal snow for establishing a base”, states Dave Smith, Snowbowl’s Director of Sales & Marketing. “We have had crews on the mountain most of the week preparing for this day. It’s been a flurry of activity here, from Ski Patrol getting the slopes ready to delivery of food for the lodges. We are all very excited to get the slopes open.”
Crews had a lot of preparation before today's opening due to extreme storm related hazards. Hundreds of trees and branches fell on the runs and were cleared by workers during the past several days.
Avalanche controls were also conducted to mitigate problems.
The Agassiz Lift is not operating today because of unsafe conditions created by the weight of ice and snow on tree limbs. Snowbowl staff will monitor conditions and make a decision when it is safe to open the lift.
In addition to using Hart Prairie, Sunset and Aspen Lifts and the Little Spruce Conveyor, skiers are invited to hop on the new conveyor located next to the Hart Prairie Lift.
Arizona Snowbowl has received as many as 54 inches of snow since mid December and snow cats have been packing snow down in anticipation of today's opening. Additional information is available at www.arizonasnowbowl.com.
The staff at Flagstaff's Nordic Center are also reporting joyous skiing conditions. The center is open again after two other openings this season. Rains brought on by this week's relatively warm storm melted the snow base and caused the nordic center to close. An additional foot of the white stuff allowed the center to reopen a third (and they say hopefully final) time this season. More information is available at http://www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com
