NEAR NEIHART — Last year, Showdown Montana had its worst snow year in its 88 years of operation. But already, Montana’s oldest ski area seems to be ready to reverse that trend.
The ski area near Neihart has been hard at work training employees and grooming trails in order to be up and running this weekend, ahead of schedule.
Showdown was originally slated to open on December 13.
“We'll be opening this year on more snow than we opened on last year much later,” said Showdown President Katie Boedecker.
Starting Saturday, all lifts at Showdown and about 75% of the terrain will be open.
Showdown is Montana’s oldest ski area, dating back to 1936 and features 39 runs on 639 skiable acres.
“We're super excited to get everybody up here and get them out on some decent snow,” said Boedecker.
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“Our base is looking really good. We have about 10 to 15 inches of set up snow,” said Showdown Marketing Director and Vice President Avery Patrick. “It's definitely early season conditions. So, you want to be mindful when you're out skiing.”
Last year’s lack of snow hasn’t seemed to diminish Showdown’s die-hard and loyal customer base.
“We did our little Cyber Monday sale and Black Friday sale and it far exceeded our expectations, which we really appreciate,” said Boedecker. “But I think it also for us was just an indication of how excited people are to get back out and enjoy winter.”
“On social media over the last couple weeks, we've just had such enthusiasm with people saying, ‘I can't wait to get back up there. It feels like home. Can't wait to see all my friends and be with the skiing community. Can't wait to get back on the slopes,” said Patrick.
Showdown’s hours of operation are from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.
According to the Showdown website, the Hoxter Express chairlift, formerly known as the Caboose, will be closed part of Saturday for training.
Showdown is about 65 miles southeast of Great Falls; click here to visit the website.
