Freshly fallen snow. A holiday weekend. The prospect of blue skies.
Downhill skiers, snowboarders and ski area operators throughout Central California are counting their holiday blessings.
"What a great combination," said Colin Baldock, who oversees the Badger Pass Ski Area for DNC Parks & Resorts. "For our business, you couldn't ask for anything more."
A winter storm forecasted to bring between 1 to 3 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada between Wednesday and today is expected to clear up by Friday, giving way to the best ski conditions of the season. And it couldn't come at a better time.
At Sierra Summit, where it has snowed more than a foot since Sunday, employees are gearing up for what they hope will be a busy weekend.
"Conditions should be really good," marketing coordinator Lisa Bressel said. "We're going to have fresh snow -- a couple feet, hopefully -- and will have a lot more of the mountain open."
Located along Highway 168 near Huntington Lake about 65 miles east of Fresno, Sierra Summit had four chairlifts and two handletows that service the beginner and learning areas operating Wednesday. The resort reported base depths of 2 to 4 feet on its Web site.
In addition to natural snow, the resort has snowmaking on about 40% of its runs and has been pumping it out almost nonstop for a week.
"It hasn't snowed up here on Christmas in several years, so it's real pretty," Bressel said. "Hopefully, we'll have a good turnout this weekend."
Although it doesn't have snowmaking, Badger Pass hopes to share in the bounty.
California's original ski resort, located in Yosemite National Park off Highway 41, will be fully operational this weekend, including the refurbished Eagle Chair, Baldock said. DNC Parks & Resorts, which operates Yosemite's concessions, spent $2.5 million on improvements.
Unless the storm fails to deliver, Badger Pass' reported base depths of between 11/2 to 3 feet could double by this weekend.
"We're expecting a 48-hour storm that should bring a fairly significant amount of snow," Baldock said.
While Sierra Summit and Badger Pass offer ski rentals, many Fresno-area residents prefer to rent ski and snowboard equipment at Herb Bauer Sporting Goods.
Herb Bauer has a package where skis, boots and poles rent for $25 and snowboards and boots rent for $35. (Juniors pay $5 less.) The rate is good Friday to Monday or Monday to Thursday. Seasonal rentals -- good until Sierra Summit closes -- are $225 for skis and boards longer than 135 cm and $180 for anything shorter.
"We're really busy," rental shop employee Shane Powell said. "Right now, in fact."
Chains were required Wednesday in the mountains on both Highways 168 and 41. Call (800) 427-7623 for road conditions.
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