Warm weather affecting Big Horn snowmobile season - KOTA Territory News

Warm weather affecting Big Horn snowmobile season

The snowmobile season started a little later than normal in the Big Horn Mountains this December, but business didn't pick up until well after New Year's Day.

"January was kind of slow.  The first weekend of February through this weekend and including this coming weekend, all of the motels have been completely full," said Bear Lodge Resort owner Rick Young.

Temperatures have been in the forties and fifties recently, but resort owners and snowmobilers expect the season to last at least another month.

"It varies from the tenth of April normally to sometimes going way into the middle of June.  We should still have enough snow even through the fifteenth [of April], barring a complete seven day period of 50 degrees," said Young.

"I've been out here when it's been pretty slushy and we haven't run into any of that yet.  So I think it's going to be good riding here for several more weeks," said snowmobiler Stan Anderson, who came all the way from De Smet, South Dakota to enjoy the Big Horn Mountain trails.

The warmer temperatures are actually helpful for snowmobilers, making for some of the season's best riding.

"What it does is settle out the snow that you have.  But that gives you a really good base," said Young.

"You want some weight to that snow so it settles down a little bit, covers up a lot of stumps and a lot of rocks that way," said Anderson.

Riders plan on enjoying the trails for another month or so, as long as the weather cooperates.

"What we're concerned about is two days of 45 [degrees] and settling it out and packing it to where in the morning you get up it's 20 degrees and the snow's like concrete," said Young.

Young says about 90 percent of the mountain has between 50 to 75 inches of snow pack.