The good news: Sleeping Giant is now snow-covered. The bad news: It’s not enough to safely ski.

The popular area ski destination was scheduled to open by Friday, but that’s not going to happen. While there’s 6-inches on the ground — thanks to recent storms including Sunday squalls — the snow hasn’t had time to settle, said Bob Newsome, a member of the nonprofit board that helps run the ski area.

“We need a packed, solid base of age-hardened snow,” Newsome said. “If you open too early you could lose your base. People get grumpy skiing on ice, but it’s worse to ski on rocks.”

The new plan is for the facility to open one week later — on Friday, Dec. 20. The temperatures may be right for making snow, but Newsome said the high costs of electricity and employees that would need to be involved is prohibitive while Park County’s only ski area tries to be conservative with available resources.

Sleeping Giant is Wyoming’s oldest ski area and a nonprofit enterprise. Their mission statement is to provide safe, affordable and educational recreation opportunities that enhance the quality of life. The slopes first opened for business in 1936.

Sleeping Giant Ski Area closed a couple decades ago, but reopened in 2009 under the Yellowstone Recreations Foundation. As part of the efforts to get the ski hill open and running, the slope was expanded to 900 vertical feet and 184 acres of terrain.

Board members will continue to watch how the slopes develop over the next week to 10 days and will decide at that point if they can open for holiday skiers.

“Red Lodge has taken more than their fair share of snowflakes,” Newsome said. “We’ll watch the weather and open as soon as conditions are right.”

—By Mark Davis