Powder Mountain

OGDEN -- A year ago, water managers saw snowpacks 150 percent of normal burying Utah's mountains and were worrying themselves sick about what the spring runoff would be like. This year, there's a lot less to worry about.

SNOWBASIN -- While many shoppers arose well before the crack of dawn today to take advantage of Black Friday shopping deals, Marshall McGonegal and his friends opted for Black Thursday.

McGonegal, of Eden, was first in line to board the Needles Gondola at Snowbasin as it opened its lifts for the 2011-12 season -- his reward for arriving at the resort around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

EDEN — A motocross rider practicing for this weekend’s racing at Powder Mountain died Thursday when he crashed and sustained serious injuries.

Dylan Perkins, 16, had traveled from his hometown of Surprise, Ariz., to Eden for the third annual Monster Energy Powder Mountain Motocross racing event. The ski resort transformed its ski runs into a motocross stadium for a full weekend schedule of events.

Thursday was designated as a warm-up time for riders. The teenager was in his third practice lap on the track when, at 11 a.m., he took a serious spill.

Ski season may be over at Powder Mountain, but the action on the slopes continues as the resort prepares to host its first ever snowmobile competition this weekend.

The Powder Mountain Snowmobile Hill Climb, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will feature snowmobile races up the face of Cache Bowl -- a vertical gain of 1,150 feet.

The Timberline Lodge, Powder Keg and Timberline areas will greet spectators with food, beer gardens, vendors, sponsors and entertainment in addition to the races. Fuel TV's Thrillbillies will provide entertainment in between races.

Racers from the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hill Climb Association will compete in the RMSHA Points Final Championship as well as the chance to win the title of 'King of the Mountain'. Junior, women and pro classes will all be racing, and local classes are available for anyone interested in participating in the hill climb.

LIBERTY -- Beverly Williamson helped one athlete with his gloves, adjusted the top of three knit caps a second was wearing, told a third to tighten his snowshoe bindings, checked jacket zippers all around and didn't even flinch when one of the squad plucked a safety pin from one of the several cords dangling around her neck.