With all of our lift-served terrain now open, Ski Patrol and the MCS guides have been honing in on Mirkwood. Getting this terrain open is not as simple as just dropping the rope. The crew conducts extensive avalanche mitigation and prep work on this section of the mountain. These efforts includes disruption roller work, explosives, ski cutting, ski packing and further testing for snow instabilities. There are thousands of feet of boundary to string up with several smaller but significant rope closures and gates. The snowcats build the access roads to the top of Mirkwood and Elation Ridge as well as the Egress Road that returns skiers/riders to the base area.

The crew has taken advantage of a brief lull in the weather this week to continue their work and has made some great progress in Mirkwood over the last few days. It looks like another round of snow and wind here over the next 24-hours. We will evaluate where we are at after this storm event and continue to test for further snow instabilities prior to making a decision on opening Mirkwood. Stay tuned.