NEAR NEIHART — After a delay to the start of their season, Showdown Montana's ski lifts are back up and running and they’ve got plenty of snow up in the mountain.
Warmer than normal temperatures and a lack of snow up until this week forced Showdown to delay their season by a week, but Mother Nature rewarded their patience with fresh powder just before opening and they are back into the swing of things.
Adrian Acosta lives in Great Falls and made sure he was able to go snowboarding for opening day.
This is his second season going to Showdown and says he’s enjoyed the hill whenever he’s on it.
“Oh, it’s been great. Bunch of snow. Basically like a powder day. It’s nice out. Was a little cold this morning but the sun was out. It’s feeling better,” Acosta said. “Not a whole lot of people but it’s nice though because you can pretty much go all over the snow how you want to. And I’ve really been enjoying it.”
Opening weekend is always a big deal for Showdown, partly because of the food drive they host up at the hill, offering cheaper lift tickets for a good cause and it’s something they looks forward to every year, said marketing director Avery Patrick.
“Opening day has been amazing. We were so blessed with 12 inches of new snow overnight which has made a beautiful opening day. We have lots of snow up here and we’re ready for the food drive tomorrow,” Patrick said. “We’re just so excited for that. It’s an awesome way to help the Great Falls food bank right before Christmas. You know, so many pantries need to be filled and we’re so happy we can help.”
Showdown's annual donation drive to help the Great Falls Community Food Bank will be on Saturday, December 18 - the cost for a lift ticket will be $15 dollars and 15 canned food items.
Showdown will be open every day through January 2 except for Christmas Day and will feature some fun events such as "Ski with Santa" on December 18th and the annual Torchlight Parade & Fireworks on December 31.
