West Mountain Ski Center in Queensbury is getting an early jump on the season this year with a planned Saturday opening.

The Thanksgiving Day snowstorm and unseasonably cold temperatures provided an early Christmas present base for snowmakers to add on to, a happy sounding West Mountain co-owner Spencer Montgomery said on Tuesday.

“It’s a good combination we don’t normally get,” he said. “This is the first time I can remember where we got snow and then the temps dropped and it stuck. It’s idea as far as a base goes.”

Saturday’s opening will likely feature skiing on The Face and Holy Mackerel from the top. The Cure trail, the steepest on the mountain, is a possibility, he said.

Montgomery seemed eager to chat about the upcoming season, especially after the struggle with Mother Nature last year that led to a sub-par revenue season a year ago.

He was also eager to talk about the culmination of a national search for an outside operations manager that landed seasoned veteran Laszlos Otvos from Truckee, California. Otvos has years of experience including at time at Mammoth Mountain and Soda Springs Ski Resort, both in California.

Otvos was hired after an expensive national search on Ski Area Magazine. The search also landed a head lift mechanic Nate Hansen rom Alaska, who will be starting Jan. 1.

With the two seasoned professionals joining the team, Montgomery said he expects to be running more smoothly than ever.   

“We’ve had a lot of trouble hiring. It’s been really, really difficult over the last three years so we bit the bullet and spent a lot of money on national and global advertising,” he said. “It’s an epidemic in our industry.”

Montgomery said ski areas have a large technical component and it’s hard to find people with deep knowledge. He said it’s also nice to hire people from other resorts who can bring new ideas to the table.

“It just brings that industry knowledge to West Mountain and ultimately a better product for the public,” he said.

The season will kick-off Friday night with a Merry on the Mountain holiday-themed party featuring a tree-lighting ceremony, cookie decorating, ornament making and visits with Santa. For more information check out westmountain.com.

Early season Nordic fun

It’s barely into December and I’ve already been on my Nordic skis three times, getting some valuable (needed) exercise at Morse Field. Friends made a solid track and that crusty snow was perfect for a speedy glide. It appeared as though local high school Nordic racers have been using the field too, because the third time I went out, there were lots of skater tracks.

It made me feel good for those kids who is recent years have been relegated to dry-land training into December or being forced to travel to find the snow. Hopefully, for those of us out there who like to play in the snow, we’ll get a nice snowy, seasonable winter. We’re due.

David Blow is a freelance journalist and professor of communications at VTSU Castleton. He may be reached at davent67@gmail.com