Previously scheduled for a Sunday, Mount Ellis Academy's Ski Hill Restoration Day was moved ahead to Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, due to reports of weekend snow at the Bozeman, Mont., school
Instead of classes on Wednesday morning, students loaded the bus and headed up Bear Canyon. Brent Tungesvik, maintenance director, assessed the needs and put together all of the equipment needed to accomplish numerous tasks.
The interior of the lodge was deep-cleaned, and the exterior was sealed with linseed oil. The runs were cleared of debris and branches. Dead trees were pulled to the bottom of the hill, limbed, cut and split into firewood. The woodshed and maintenance building were thoroughly cleaned, garbage was hauled away, and the newly split firewood was stacked into the woodshed.
Although the students returned for afternoon classes and work, Tungesvik commented that they “accomplished a lot in four hours.” Thankfully Tim Roberts and his crew were able to locate the short in the ski hill lighting that afternoon, which means there will be night skiing this year. Things are looking bright for winter sports in Bear Canyon.
