Wax those snowboards and dust off those ski boots: Alyeska Resort is preparing to open at least part of the mountain for shredding Friday.
"It all depends on what Mother Nature gives us," Mountain Services Manager Brian Burnett said early Monday afternoon. "And it is just going to depend on how much snow we can blow between now and this weekend."
Burnett said crews were finally able to start making snow Thanksgiving Day. For the most part, he said, the temperatures for making snow have been "decent" at the top of the mountain, but fluctuating at mid-mountain and further down toward the base.
Alyeska was originally scheduled to open to the public on Thanksgiving Day, but with little snowfall and temperatures too warm to make snow, it was forced to postpone.
Sunday, the mountain looked merely dusted with snow at the base. Snow-making guns were running constantly, and the brown of summer's dead grass and shrubbery poked through the man-made snow. On Monday, Burnett said it was "lightly" snowing and about 29 degrees at the bottom of the mountain, but the snow-blowing guns were still going.
According to Burnett, the most likely scenario for this weekend would see only part of the mountain opened. An online ski report, updated daily, said that by Monday the bottom of the mountain had only 2 inches of snow cover, the middle had an average of 12 inches and the top of the mountain had an average of 21 inches of powder to play in. Burnett said the resort tram would likely move people between the top and bottom of the mountain, with a portion of the upper mountain open.
Burnett added that once riders made their way to the top of the mountain, they could ski down to Chair 6, which they would then be able to ride to the top again. At the time of the interview, Burnett said, ski patrol was trying to figure out how to "mark the terrain."
"If we get big snow we will have more open," Burnett said. "It just depends on how much snow we can blow between now (Monday) and this weekend, but we are certainly hoping to have some sort of terrain open this weekend."
He said ticket prices are still undecided for the mountain's opening weekend and will be determined closer to the opener, when resort officials know for sure how much of the mountain will be operational.