Bluebird opener for Diamond Peak

[ERIC]

Bluebird opener for Diamond Peak

Justin Broglio
Bonanza staff writer, jbroglio@tahoebonanza.com
December 16, 2005

It was a clear and quiet morning Thursday as residents took to the corduroy at Diamond Peak for opening day.

"There's nothing to complain about today," said Terry Ackeret, who has been skiing since the 60s and has held a Diamond Peak season pass for 28 years. "The quality of the snow is excellent. It's not icy and they have done a great job grooming the open runs."

Diamond Peak has been making snow since early November, said Diamond Peak general manager Ed Youmans as he boarded Crystal Express, one of three lifts that Diamond Peak ran Thursday.

"We don't touch the man-made snow until a couple of days before opening," Youmans said. "That way it has a chance to dry up and our groomers can till and compact it into a nice base layer."

Thursday may seem like a off day to open a North Shore ski resort, but Youmans said opening a few days before the weekend allows his team to work out any pre-season bugs and get back into swing of things.

"This is the culmination of all our hard work," said Elena Diaz, Diamond Peak's Sales Manager. "We work over 200 days a year to reach this day and it's absolutely the best feeling in the world to finally be out the hill again."

Despite the rocks and trees visible from the chairlift, Diamond Peak ski patrollers Jeff Ganyard and John Farrell said the mountain was in great shape.

"People have to stay on the marked, open trails," Ganyard said. "There is not enough natural snow to get off the groomed runs but otherwise conditions are great."

Although Diamond Peak only had a few runs open Thursday, 135 local skiers and snowboarders showed up to ride and said they couldn't be happier about their backyard playground finally turning on the lifts.

Bob Hoff and Allen Wilmot, who ski an average of 40 days a year at Diamond Peak, said Thursday's conditions were better than they expected despite the lack of snow .

"I can't ever remember when the grooming on opening day has been this good," Wilmot said. "The conditions are excellent, holding an edge on this man-made snow is as easy as pie."

For Hoff, having a resort like Diamond Peak in his backyard is something he still can't get over.

"It's absolutely fantastic," he said. "It's a real privilege to have a great mountain like this so close to home."

Diamond Peak resort officials said they plan to open the Lakeview Quad and more terrain as soon as conditions allow.

For up to date snow reports visit diamondpeak.com.