Would-be skiers across the state will have to wait at least one more weekend to hit the slopes after conditions on Arizona's biggest peak unexpectedly changed over the weekend.
The Snowbowl Ski Resort in Flagstaff remains closed, despite reports from the resort Friday that it would open.
Snowbowl was left with a six- to eight-inch base after storms over the weekend wiped away a week's worth of snow.
After hearing that Snowbowl would open, some ASU students trekked north to Flagstaff to spend the weekend on the slopes.
"My friend saw online that Snowbowl would be open, so we drove up to Flagstaff Friday night," said Mikail Lane, vice president of the Snowdevils skiing and snowboarding club at ASU. "We decided to go up to the mountain Saturday morning, but it was closed because of wind damage."
Snowbowl was hit with 70 mph winds Friday night, said J.R. Murray, general manager at Snowbowl.
"We got wind, excessive winds," Murray added. "It ended up blowing snow off in many critical areas."
The lack of snow in Flagstaff has become a pattern in recent years.
The resort opened for only 15 days last year and has been closed until after New Years for seven of the last 10 years, according to Snowbowl records.
To counteract its snow woes, the Snowbowl, nestled in the San Francisco Peaks, is being upgraded with snowmaking machines on 95 percent of its runs.
Snowbowl Resort owners have wanted the machines installed since 2002, but Native American tribes that consider the San Fransisco Peaks sacred went to trial to stop construction.
Reclaimed water used in the proposed snow making machines will defile the mountain, according to court documents.
Reclaimed water is sewage water that has been run through a purifying process.
In January 2006, a district judge ruled in favor of Snowbowl, allowing construction of snowmaking machinery to begin, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
But in September, Native American groups appealed the decision. A final ruling is pending.
According to court documents, it is unclear whether the reclaimed water is safe for public consumption.
"It's not nearly far-fetched that children will eat snow," said Judge Johnnie Rawlinson, who presides over the
appeal.
At Sunrise Ski Resort, located in the White Mountains 45 minutes outside of Show Low, Ariz., snow came down heavily all weekend.
The resort in eastern Arizona was buried under two feet of powder, allowing the resort to open all three of its mountains for the first time this year.
Sunrise Ski Resort has used snowmaking machines for the last 25 years. Sunrise opened on Dec. 8, which is around the usual opening date, said Sunrise Marketing Director Myra Wagner.
"We did get some natural snow, but we got a base down [with artificial snow] on the trails that let us open up early," Wagner said.
Even at Sunrise, the snowmaking equipment only covers 10 percent of the slopes.
That means, until this weekend's snowstorm, only one of Sunrise's three mountains was open for skiing.
Wagner said she was still happy with the early season.
"For how much we've had open, we've had great crowds," Wagner said.
Reach the reporter at: john.dougherty@asu.edu.
