Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside opens Friday with fresh snow and 100 percent of its terrain ready for skiers and snowboarders.

Blacktail Mountain General Manager Steve Spencer said he’s more than ready to get the season going.

“Everything’s white up here and it’s looking really good,” Spencer said. “We’re going to be 100 percent open.”

Spencer said opening day this year comes a little later than average, but is on pace with when the ski area opened in 2015.

About a foot of new snow has fallen in the last week, while a snowstorm the previous weekend brought about 15 inches in 24 hours. Spencer said the arctic front moving south through the Flathead Valley has kept the existing snow cold, while drawing moisture from Flathead Lake. 

That’s good news for the mountain, Spencer said, after November produced warm weather and little precipitation. 

“It was all December snow that we had to wait for,” he said. “We’re all natural, so we have to wait until we get it every year.

Now we’ve taken our time with the cats and track-packed the whole place two or three times.”

Lift tickets prices at set at $40 for adults, $28 for teenagers and $19 for children. For more information, visit www.BlacktailMountain.com.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].