Skiers, boarders get an early gift

Early storms have brought enough snow to the Elkhorn Mountains to allow Anthony Lakes ski area to open Saturday, Nov. 26.

By JAYSON JACOBY
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Local skiers and snowboarders would do well to lay in a supply of sandwich bags before Thanksgiving.

Those turkey sandwiches will need to be assembled in advance, to be gobbled at the lodge rather than in the living room.

A beneficent jet stream has bestowed Anthony Lakes Ski Area with sufficient snow that the slopes will open Saturday, Nov. 26.

That’s always the goal at the resort in the Elkhorn Mountains, about 35 miles northwest of Baker City.

But it’s a goal not always realized.

“We are excited to get the season under way,” Peter Johnson, Anthony’s general manager, said Sunday. “The storm was well-timed, dumping about 15 inches of snow in just three days, on top of eight to 10 inches that were already on the ground.”

Johnson emphasized, though, that the snow isn’t yet deep enough to cover every obstacle on every run.

“We will have a couple of groomed runs, and encourage skiers and boarders to stay on them,” he said. “We got some of that great Anthony Lakes powder early, so there isn’t much of a base. Be very, very careful if you do venture off the groomed areas.”

The ski area will be open Saturday and Sunday. Next week’s schedule has not been set. Anthony normally is open Thursday through Sunday.

Anthony Lakes is beginning its second year in public ownership.

The resort’s previous owners, after failing to find a buyer, transferred the business to Baker County in July 2010.

A nonprofit organization, Baker County Development Corp., operates the ski area.

This is Johnson’s first season as general manager.

He had a busy off-season.

Among the changes at Anthony:

• New rental equipment

• More groomed cross-country trails, and a limited food and beverage menu at the Nordic Center (inside the historic Forest Service guard station on the north shore of Anthony Lake, just east of the lodge)

Visitors are reminded that Oregon sno-park permits are required at Anthony Lakes.

Permits are available at the DMV office in Baker City, and there is a limited supply at the ski area’s retail shop. Permits cost $4 per day, $8 for three days, or $22 for the entire winter. Permits are valid at any of Oregon’s several dozen sno parks.

Starting Dec. 3, buses will haul skiers to the mountain from Baker City and La Granders. Costs and schedules are posted online at www.anthonylakes.com. Daily snow reports are available on the website or by calling 541-856-3277.