The nearly 3,000 Juneau skiers who have already bought passes at Eaglecrest Ski Area will have to bear yet another delay to the mountain’s opening date.
Eaglecrest planned to open last Saturday. That was pushed back a week due to a lack of snow. Manager Dave Scanlan said on Thursday it’s still unclear when there will be enough snow to kick off the season.
“We’re still waiting on Mother Nature to give us temperatures for natural snow and also temperatures so we can get our snowmaking system going and get enough snow up and down to get the mountain open for the season,” he said.
Scanlan said it’s not uncommon for November and December weather to be tricky to predict. He said this year’s warmer and wetter temperatures mean Eaglecrest hasn’t been able to supplement the lack of real snow with its 22 snowmaking machines. He said he’s still optimistic the weather will turn in the mountain’s favor soon enough.
Last year the ski area partially opened on Dec. 3.
“It’s actually currently snowing at the mountain and the forecast is looking really good over the next couple of days,” he said. “We’re chomping at the bit as much as everyone else is and I definitely have a smile on my face as I look out my office window and see the snowflakes falling.”
Meteorologist Pete Boyd with the National Weather Service office in Juneau said people can expect a weekend snowfall heading to Juneau. But, after that, the weather appears to turn on the warm and wet side going into at least next week.
“Not really looking great for an immediate open at Eaglecrest,” he said.
Boyd said uncertain winter conditions are not atypical for Southeast Alaska, but it appears Juneau could have a lower amount of snow this year. He noted it’s an El Niño year, a natural climate pattern which at times can mean warmer than normal temperatures.
“We’ve started seeing a lot warmer temperatures through the past few years. So is this normal for December? Not really. But it’s still within climatology,” he said. “And we’re not really seeing anything exceptional with the weather we’re seeing right now. It’s just on the warmer side.”
