MISSOULA — While we've seen a lot of rain this week, recent snow helped mountain crews get Snowbowl ready for its 71st season.
North of Missoula, skiers and snowboarders lined up early to get first chair of the year.
"I think I got up at like 6:45," snowboarder Ryan Landolfi said.
"It's so exciting to be here. I think it's always like the first day of anything is fun," Snowbowl spokeswoman Maddy Morris shared.
Check out opening day at Snowbowl:
Grizzly Lift and Snow Park chair are running from Dec. 12 through Dec. 14. The lifts start spinning at 10 a.m. each day.
"Every year, we have our engineers come out to inspect all the lifts. Forest Service comes out, does their inspections, so everything's ready. We just need that snow," Morris detailed.
Runs saw some work in the off-season, with crews putting in more than 600 hours.
"All groomed runs were worked on, and then for the die-hards, we actually got Grizzly Chute done, so a lot of people are pumped for that," Morris explained.
While opening day's snow was wetter, that may bode well for kicking off the ski area's 71st season.
"The rain actually helps to make it heavier and then it's gonna freeze nicely and just make a really good base snow for the rest of the season," Morris said.
However, riders are eager for more snow.
"Supposed to be a La Nina year, supposed to get a lot of snow, so it should be pretty good here this next storm cycle," Landolfi told MTN.
With many doing snow dances, the powder may arrive soon.
"Supposed to be next week, middle of next week, we're supposed to get cold air instead of hot, atmospheric river," Landolfi shared.
Once the snow starts to stack up, Snowbowl will open more terrain, the Lavalle and Transporter lifts, and begin normal hours.
The ski area will not be open between Dec. 15 and Dec. 18. Check out the latest conditions here.
