NOTN- Eaglecrest Ski Area is off the mountain tonight with a new “Christmas in July” event downtown.

Director of Snow Sports Erin Lupro said the event will run this evening from 4–7 p.m. at Deckhand Dave’s food truck area, featuring live music from Steady Goin’ from 5–7 p.m., festive decorations and on-site season pass sales.

“If you do buy your pass at the event, we will give you an ornament to put into a box of your choice to win a Christmas present, and if you buy your season pass at the event, you have an option to pick a present that you might like. It varies from some Eaglecrest swag, of course, all the way up to, we might have a helicopter ride in one of those boxes.”

July is the only month Eaglecrest offers a payment plan for season passes, with installments stretching through October.

On the operations side, Lupro said the ski area is coming out of a “rough budget cycle” but has now begun winter hiring for lift operators, rental shop staff and instructors, with many returning employees retained.

Opening day is set for Dec. 12, with 87 operating days planned, “pretty much a copy-paste” of last winter, she said.

“The beginning of last season was a little rough, both for the community and for the staff because we want the same thing as the community. We want to be able to provide what is so much fun for all of us. So this winter, I know it’s the big elephant in the room. What will Eaglecrest be doing? We were able to work through the budget, and the only change is we have a small window in February where we’re open from 9:00 until 3:00 a little bit longer, and then switch to 4:00. So that’s the only difference that we made to the calendar for this operational season.” Lupro said.

Former Eaglecrest staffer Julie Jackson Piper will return as general manager on Aug. 31.