WHITEFISH, MONT. (Nov. 26, 2001) -- Big Mountain Resort has announced that they will open on Saturday December 1 for the beginning of the ski and snowboard season. Big Mountain delayed its traditional Thanksgiving Day opening due to lack of snow and had rescheduled its official opening for December 7th. However, a welcome snowstorm brought the resort 18 inches of new snow on Thursday and Friday prompting officials to open this weekend.

Chairs 1 and 7 will open at 9:30 AM, with the majority of the open terrain on the North side of the mountain. Weather conditions this week look very favorable for snowmaking, as well as natural snowfall and the resort hopes to have at least one run open on the south face. The resort is reporting a 33 inch settled base at the summit and 9 inches in the village.

"We'll be continually evaluating the situation," said Chester Powell, operations manager for the resort. "Safety is our number one concern and we�ll open terrain as soon as we are able to. Ski Patrol urges skiers and snowboarders to use caution and obey all marked closures.�

Resort operators will continue to evaluate conditions and safety and make the determination as to whether Big Mountain will remain open into the week. The Nordic Center will open as snow conditions allow.

The free SNOW Bus will run as scheduled from 6:10 AM to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. $20 lift tickets are offered through December 21st and Frequent Skier Cards are on sale until December 6th.

Official snow reports can be accessed on Big Mountain�s Web site www.skiwhitefish.com or by calling (406) 862-SNOW.