Big Squaw welcomes much-needed snowfall Officials hope good skiing just a beginning

BIG SQUAW MOUNTAIN – Thursday’s snowstorm was a welcome sight to Big Squaw Mountain officials, especially after the strange weather pattern the region has been under in the past several weeks.

The 55-degree weather the region experienced several days ago caused havoc on the mountain, but Thursday’s snowfall and the snow made at the mountain since has restored the good skiing, Rich Donaher, Big Squaw Mountain Resort’s ski shop manager, said Thursday.

The mountain now has a 6- to 18-inch base that is perfect for skiing and snowboarding, he said.

Only the lower mountain trails are open this winter for skiing and snowboarding because of an accident last year, according to Donaher.

In that accident, a chair on the double chairlift carrying two skiers slid backwards along the cable, crashed into a car behind it and detached from the lift, falling to the snow. Two men were treated for their injuries.

Plans are to remove the double chairlift in the spring and replace it with another completely overhauled double chairlift, according to Jim Confalone, the resort’s owner.

He said Thursday that the one now in place will be rebuilt and installed on another mountain in the general area to expand the resort’s offerings.

Confalone, who plans to move to the Greenville area, said a large transfusion of money made from the sale of three businesses he owned in Florida will be pumped into the facility over the next few years.

The businesses he sold were a large oil change facility, a fueling and maintenance operation at Okeechobee Jet Center, and a 162-employee car wash. He has three other businesses that he also plans to sell in the near future.

“We plan to make the mountain into a facility like no one has ever seen,” Confalone said.