The Northern Hills winter sports district was suffering from a lack of snow as the fall turned to winter this year, but the snow finally came. A good five inches fell on Terry Peak and Deer Mountain, and the two ski areas are seeing their parking lots getting close to full as more and more ski enthusiasts respond to the snowfall.

     The Ski Mystic, Zero-Gravity Tube Park was busy Thursday at Deer Mountain. The staff at the Ski Mystic ski area at Deer Mountain say they've seen about five inches of new snow in the last two days. Snow has also been falling at Terry Peak, where more ski lifts will open this coming weekend. Tom Marsing says, "Surprise Run from the top down. Kussy from the top down. And then we've got the Stewart Lodge area; the beginner slope area will all be open."

     Tom Marsing, President of Terry Peak, says he's glad to see the parking lots are full as they should be this time of the year. Marsing says, "It's nice to see. We've got people who are interested in skiing. We just wish we had more open. But this is the 27th of December which is usually a very, very nice time and the parking lots are full."

     Right now, Ski Mystic has only its tubing hill and its beginner ski trail open. The staff there says the other ski slopes will open when they get about another 10 inches of snow.

Al Van Zee