Red Lodge, Montana – Big spring snowstorms helped Red Lodge Mountain stay open for an extra weekend, but the ski season came to a close Sunday afternoon.
Red Lodge got hammered this spring and, according to General Manager Jeff Schmidt, doubled its snowpack in just a few weeks after what had been a disappointing start to the year in terms of snowfall.
“In the last month, things have really turned on,” Schmidt said Sunday morning. “We’ve doubled our snowfall at least and really improved the conditions.”
Because of the better weather, the mountain remained open for an additional weekend, which ended on Sunday afternoon. According to Schmidt, the decision to extend the workweek was an easy one given the record-breaking snowfall.
“Given the amount of snow, it seemed like we had to give at least a few more days,” Schmidt said. “Like anything, it’s nice to leave people happy, so we’re ending on a beautiful day today with the sun and good spring snow.”
On Sunday, a sizable number of people went skiing. Sam Grondin, a resident of Billings, was one of many people taking advantage of the extra weekend.
“It was awesome,” Grondin said. “Especially getting the bonus weekend. It’s just great to get up here, and any snow is still snow.”
On Sunday, Grondin went snowboarding with some friends. She claimed that she makes as many trips as she can to Red Lodge Mountain during the season and that the snow last weekend held up fairly well.
“I try to get up here every week and as much as I can,” Grondin said. “It was really great to just be able to get some more snow over here. The more there is, the more there is to enjoy.”
Tannar Steigeneier, a friend of Grondin’s, claimed that despite the mountain’s poor start to the year, the big snowfall in the second half made up for it.
“Especially during like March and April that was probably some of the best skiing I’ve ever had up here,” Stiegeneier said.
Red Lodge Mountain’s marketing director Jack Moore claimed that in order to make up for the weak first half of the season, the mountain needs to have a great second half.
“It’s one of those things where we all know we are a late-season mountain, but it really only hits when you see it and can believe it,” Moore said. “We were able to make up a lot of ground with these crowds and business and snow overall.”
Moore also expressed his happiness that the mountain had rebounded from the year’s slow start and that they had been able to end the season on a high note.
“The bonus weekend is always up to the conditions and the conditions have been more than great today,” Moore said. “So, all things considered, we finished really strong and we can’t be happier about it.”