A winter storm pelted the North Country with a combination of snow, sleet, wind, rain and freezing rain yesterday, forcing several groups and schools to postpone meetings and sporting events, while making travel hazardous at best. After starting out with temperatures in the mid to upper 30s yesterday morning, conditions deteriorated throughout the day, with temperatures plunging below zero overnight. Despite the slick conditions, there were no reports of road closures in the area yesterday. The only local school to close yesterday due to the inclement weather, was North Country Community College.
All schools anticipate being open today.
There will be no skiing or snowboarding at Big Tupper Ski Area this season after all. Plans to reopen for this season were abandoned, after two scheduled meetings were cancelled, due to inclement weather. And, according to Ski Club President Seth Barnum, there has not been much public interest in reopening the area, which closed prior to last season, due to financial difficulties. Barnum, who founded the club with Brother Mason and longtime friend Patrick Fellion, said the group would work to formulate a plan to open for the 2001-2002 season. In it s last season, Big Tupper employed between 90 and 110 workers and attracted 60,000 skiers to the 1,100-foot slope, which uses the top third of Mount Morris.