Brundage Mountain Resort is offering free chairlift rides on Thursday, June 30 as the resort stages a special celebration to kick off the summer chairlift season.

The Grand Opening Celebration takes place Thursday, June 30 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Visitors can stop by the Bike Shop to get their free scenic lift tickets for a ride up the Blue Bird High Speed Quad to Brundage Mountain’s 7,640 foot summit.  Once there, they’ll find the deepest summer snowpack since the resort starting offering summer lift service in the early 1990’s.

“Summer has now officially arrived, but we’ve still got between four and six feet of snowpack remaining on the summit,” said resort spokesperson, April Russell. “Our long-time employees have never seen anything like this, and it will make for an incredible photo opportunity.”

Brundage Mountain crews will be clearing a sizable flat area right on the summit so people can unload on foot and take photos. Visitors will enjoy spectacular 360-degree views from the summit, highlighted this year by snow-capped mountains ranging from Idaho’s Seven Devils to Oregon’s Eagle Cap Mountains.

The Grand Opening Celebration will also feature a base-area barbecue and live music from Idaho-Down headliner, Jeff Crosby. Crosby will play two sets, at 12:00 noon and 1:30 pm. IdahoDown tickets will be available for sale and several local organizations will be on hand to answer questions about summer recreational opportunities in the area.

Due to the late season snowpack, mountain bike trails will not be open by June 30^th. Visitors will not be allowed to bring bikes, skis, snowboards, sleds or tubes up the chairlift for safety reasons, and ‘sensible footwear’ is strongly recommended.

Mountain bike trail crews are hard at work preparing the bike trails as the snow melts, but the snowpack is still considerable on the upper half of the mountain.

“We expect the snow to start melting off more quickly now that the days are getting longer and temperatures are beginning to warm,” said Russell. “We hope to be announcing mountain bike trail openings very soon, and guests can follow that progress on our website or Facebook pages.”

“In the meantime, our friends from CIMBA (Central Idaho Mountain Bike Association) will be on hand with tons of helpful information, so mountain bikers can find out about the latest developments in the area.”

The persistent snowpack has also prompted Brundage Mountain to reschedule its annual Brundage Mountain Bike Festival. Downhill and Super D events will now be held on August 6 & 7.

“We had nearly 100 inches of snow fall during the month of March and another 50 inches during April and May, but we had no idea that snow would be sticking around so long,” said Russell.

Regular summer lift hours are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, with Bonus Days Monday, July 4 and Monday, September 5.