Local Ski Resorts Getting Ready For Upcoming Season

November 15, 2022

Steve Goodspeed,

DULUTH, Minn. — Skateboarders may not be fans of snow, but snowboarders and skiers certainly are.

Two popular area hills have been in full swing for weeks, trying to get ready for the coming season.

Spirit Mountain was actually working on some ground areas in August. Now its snow and crunch time.

Ann Glumac, Interim Executive Director said, “In order to prepare the hill, we need to make snow. We rely on manmade snow, so snow that’s just fallen is great, but we rely on manmade snow to get a depth of about 18 to 24 inches on all of our runs. So as soon as temperatures hit about the mid-twenties or lower, we are out there making snow twenty-four seven, until we get a base down on all of our runs. So that’s been very exciting. We also do our lift maintenance and make sure our lifts are ready to accommodate our guests. We are working on menus; we are working right now on a new point of sale system so it will be easier for our guests to purchase tickets and passes. And we are also in the midst of hiring, so we have a lot of moving parts right now.”

This is Spirit Mountain’s 48th year. They are hoping temperatures drop so that the snowmaking can proceed full bore.

Over at Mont du Lac, they have the same Christmas wish. They have been working to get their own runs ready for the new season. That not only includes new gear and rentals but making sure the runs have enough snow for skiers, boarders, and tubers.

“So, we started Sunday night, middle of the night. Like I said, this is our first shut down here, just to let mother nature due its thing. We’re plannin’ to fire up again here hopefully after midnight. Get the snow going for everybody, get the groomers all ready to go, start pushing the piles, getting ready for the twenty-fifth, which is our target open date, Friday, ten to six. Day after Thanksgiving,” said Mike Ohara, Manager at Mont du Lac Resort.

So, mark your calendars! Both hills plan to be open November 25 so you can work off some Thanksgiving leftovers instead of hitting the Black Friday sales.