Last weekend’s blizzard was a real whopper here in the Black Hills. In yesterday’s post, I listed some snow totals from area towns, as reported by the National Weather Service.

Today, I spoke with some folks from the local ski resorts and snowmobile trail offices, near Deadwood. They were able to fill me in about how the recent snow is helping their efforts.

Joe Hamm, general manager of Mystic Miner Ski Resort at Deer Mountain, said that they received about 45.5 inches of snow across the entire mountain. That, along with their already established base of 24 inches, has helped set the stage for what is shaping up to be a great season.

As the photo above shows, on parts of the mountain there is chest-deep powder!

Hamm said that currently, the front side of Deer Mountain is open and his snow operations team is in the process of grooming the trails on the back side. He said that the back side of the mountain should be open by this weekend for New Year’s Eve skiers and snowboarders.

Deer Mountain’s terrain and tubing parks are also in great shape and have been busy so far this season.

Down the road at Terry Peak, 47 inches of the fresh powder fell across the mountain, enabling them to open up more runs. As of today, three of Terry’s four major lifts are operating and I’m told that they are hoping to have the fourth – the Empress Lift – running by this weekend.

About 75 percent of Terry Peak’s ski runs are open today, but this latest round of snow should help them get the rest of the mountain open in the coming days.

After talking with the ski hill folks, I called over and talked to Dana Garry, Mickelson Trail manager, about the conditions of the Black Hills snowmobile trails. She shared that trails from south to north received anywhere from eight inches to forty inches of snow over the weekend.

Garry said that a few snowmobile riders have already been out on the trails, but have been having some problems with the huge amounts of powdery snow. Some of the heavier sleds have been sinking in the snow and not able to move effectively.

The snow-grooming machines have been out in full-force since the weekend, readying the trails. Since the snow is so light and the high winds caused a lot of blowing and drifting, Garry said that their crews have been using a double-packing technique. This means using the standard groomers and then following up with a weighted drag to make for a better riding surface.

Whether you prefer motorized or human-powered winter sports, the coming weeks will the perfect time to get out in the Black Hills and ride. I’ll see you on the slopes!