After the lifts close at 4 pm and ski patrol has made sure that everyone is off the mountains, the first shift of groomers hit the slopes. They usually start with Madonna Mountain and Sterling Mountain. The second shift of groomers make sure that Morse Mountain is all buffed up before the lifts turn in the morning. Last night they were pretty busy with 32 trails to cover. They were on some favorites like Smugglers’ Alley, Upper FIS, Goat Path, Ruthie’s, Snow Snake, Curley’s Cutback, Snake Bite, and Thomke’s for a total of 130 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Today we have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 57 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches. Currently, it is 27 degrees and cloudy at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 15 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies early becoming partly sunny later with a high of 44 degrees at the base and 41 degrees at higher elevations.
