Midwest 2022-2023 Midwest Ski Resort/Conditions/Meetups

[Dwight]

New season is around the corner, so it is time for a new thread. I'm about 1 year behind on what is going on, but changes did happen in the Midwest. For sure in Wisconsin and U.P. Maybe this year I get to ski somewhere else besides Nordic MTN, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[wiread]

It's likely my entire season is spent there with the kids again, and that's ok with me. For now

 

[MN_Drew]

The Skinner family has closed on the (now former) Big Snow resort and has made some big announcements. The two biggest are that they've renamed Big Snow to Snowriver, and that they do plan to build a connecting lift between the two areas (no timeline given).

Many other interesting bits of info: https://www.skigranitepeak.com/blog/a-new-era-in-the-up/ .

 

[Dwight]

Supposedly Norway has been sold, but do not know to whom.

 

[Beach Bum]

That's really cool, a new era begins. Been skiing Indianhead for over 30 years. Always a good time. Love its smaller neighbor Blackjack, actually I prefer Blackjack's terrain. So much potential for improvements:

- connecting lift which is already hinted in the blog post. Way better than taking a shuttle
- fully open IH and do away with the silly T Bars that aren't open peak times
- high speeds at IH, no resort in the Midwest needs one more. Hmm maybe devil's head.
- expansion potential? At least IH seems to have more terrain that could be carved out. Add some more glade skiing to BJ which already has some great stuff.

Add in the wonders that Skinner and co have done to Granite Peak since it moved on from Rib Mtn. Yeah I've been quick to critique it at times as only really having like 300' of solid vertical and not 700'. Still, I find myself coming back every year for the whole package, awesome base area for Midwest standards with great bars and après. High speed lifts, long cruisers, lots of terrain, steeps up top.

Add in Lutsen and it's continued push for Midwest skiing excellence. Easily the best "resort" in the Midwest, meaning the full package with dining, lodging, lifts, etc.

I fully support their plans and last time they rebranded a ski resort they passed with flying colors. Snowriver, I guess it's time to get used to it. Big Snow was silly especially with the stupid failing Jersey conflict. Can't really come up with anything between BJ and IH, blackhead lol, not to mention getting away from using any native american references this day and age.

About 3 months to go, looking forward to the snow and cold.

 

[focker]

That's really cool, a new era begins. Been skiing Indianhead for over 30 years. Always a good time. Love its smaller neighbor Blackjack, actually I prefer Blackjack's terrain. So much potential for improvements:

- connecting lift which is already hinted in the blog post. Way better than taking a shuttle
- fully open IH and do away with the silly T Bars that aren't open peak times
- high speeds at IH, no resort in the Midwest needs one more. Hmm maybe devil's head.
- expansion potential? At least IH seems to have more terrain that could be carved out. Add some more glade skiing to BJ which already has some great stuff.

Add in the wonders that Skinner and co have done to Granite Peak since it moved on from Rib Mtn. Yeah I've been quick to critique it at times as only really having like 300' of solid vertical and not 700'. Still, I find myself coming back every year for the whole package, awesome base area for Midwest standards with great bars and après. High speed lifts, long cruisers, lots of terrain, steeps up top.

Add in Lutsen and it's continued push for Midwest skiing excellence. Easily the best "resort" in the Midwest, meaning the full package with dining, lodging, lifts, etc.

I fully support their plans and last time they rebranded a ski resort they passed with flying colors. Snowriver, I guess it's time to get used to it. Big Snow was silly especially with the stupid failing Jersey conflict. Can't really come up with anything between BJ and IH, blackhead lol, not to mention getting away from using any native american references this day and age.

About 3 months to go, looking forward to the snow and cold.

I've never skied there resorts. How far apart are they actually? It seems there's a valley between them correct? Could runs be cut down into that valley perhaps and a lift with a center unload/load station installed? Just wondering how the setup is.

How does Indianhead compare to Powderhorn? It appears maybe to be not quite a steep overall?

We're planning our annual family ski to up to the UP this year actually. This is a 'local year' for us since we went out west last year. We're thinking of doing a day at IH and a day at Powderhorn. My son and I did Powderhorn 2 years ago and loved it, but didn't really love the lifts.

 

[itcomestoosoon]

for those in the Minneapolis metro, what passes are you getting? was extremely disappointed by vail last year, so I would like to not get an epic pass again, but there don't seem to be any other national pass options. was thinking maybe a fusion of mountain collective, welch night pass, and indy, or maybe just ikon. i've noticed that my fall mental forecasts of how much I will ski out west the coming winter tend to be much higher than reality.

i also really want to go to lutsen this winter. i've been meaning to go for many years now, but haven't pulled the trigger yet because of the lodging logistics (often impossible) and cost as solo skier (insane).

what are you guys doing?

 

[focker]

for those in the Minneapolis metro, what passes are you getting? was extremely disappointed by vail last year, so I would like to not get an epic pass again, but there don't seem to be any other national pass options. was thinking maybe a fusion of mountain collective, welch night pass, and indy, or maybe just ikon. i've noticed that my fall mental forecasts of how much I will ski out west the coming winter tend to be much higher than reality.

i also really want to go to lutsen this winter. i've been meaning to go for many years now, but haven't pulled the trigger yet because of the lodging logistics (often impossible) and cost as solo skier (insane).

what are you guys doing?

We're just getting a Trollhaugen pass this year. If I were going to Lutsen I'd likely get the Indy pass and then do another day at Spirit or Powderhorn. We did that two years ago and had two great trips.

I usually end up going to Welch a couple of times each year and just pick up a full price ticket for the day. Wife and I love that place, but it's too far for regular weekly skiing for me living in the north metro.

 

[whitefeathers]

I have a pass to Trollhaugen and an evening pass to Wild mountain since I live within 25min from each.
I plan to make it to Buck hill and Spirit mountain at least once. I want to check out Welch village since I've never been there. I also want to get back up to Giants ridge some day. I learned how to ski there and haven't been back since because of moving back to the cities.

 

[focker]

I have a pass to Trollhaugen and an evening pass to Wild mountain since I live within 25min from each.
I plan to make it to Buck hill and Spirit mountain at least once. I want to check out Welch village since I've never been there. I also want to get back up to Giants ridge some day. I learned how to ski there and haven't been back since because of moving back to the cities.

Giants is really nice now with the new lifts, especially the high speed on one side. You can really rack up some vert here now.

 

[Beach Bum]

I've never skied there resorts. How far apart are they actually? It seems there's a valley between them correct? Could runs be cut down into that valley perhaps and a lift with a center unload/load station installed? Just wondering how the setup is.

How does Indianhead compare to Powderhorn? It appears maybe to be not quite a steep overall?

We're planning our annual family ski to up to the UP this year actually. This is a 'local year' for us since we went out west last year. We're thinking of doing a day at IH and a day at Powderhorn. My son and I did Powderhorn 2 years ago and loved it, but didn't really love the lifts.

That's a good question with the valley and it'll be interesting to see what they do. I don't think they'll extend runs in between the two. Can't at BJ with the road and creek basically at the border of the existing resort. IH could possibly extend the Grizzly run area further down but it's pretty flat there.

My guess is a lift either goes from the base of Grizzly to either the base of BJ or just above that short lift on the east side. Another option is from closer to the summit of IH, though doubt they go to summit, maybe just below where that area of power lines and snowmobile trails runs across into BJ.

I doubt they go peak to peak and I doubt they go from IH base area to BJ base. The first option I laid out is like .7 miles so not much longer than other long Midwest lifts

I love Big Powderhorn. Seems to have something for everyone when it's fully open. Their snow quality is great, they groom really well, they leave certain areas ungroomed. Fun steeps and fast blues, less vertical and less length in runs than IH. It's more comparable to BJ with respect to vertical.

The double lifts just take time to get used to. I like them now since they move quickly and load close together you at least aren't waiting like some lines at IH I've had. First year was terrifying for the little ones but by year two or more it's nothing. Never seen anyone fall apart from right at beginning which happens everywhere.

 

[Dwight]

I've never skied there resorts. How far apart are they actually? It seems there's a valley between them correct? Could runs be cut down into that valley perhaps and a lift with a center unload/load station installed? Just wondering how the setup is.

How does Indianhead compare to Powderhorn? It appears maybe to be not quite a steep overall?

We're planning our annual family ski to up to the UP this year actually. This is a 'local year' for us since we went out west last year. We're thinking of doing a day at IH and a day at Powderhorn. My son and I did Powderhorn 2 years ago and loved it, but didn't really love the lifts.

I've never skied Powderhorn. My family always said it was flatter, so don't go.

BJ has better terrain and some trees. IH has no skiable trees, yet. I hope that changes.

One ticket does get you skiing at both locations which is nice. IH has a hotel, which is old. BJ has private rental condos.

There is a powerline path that goes from IH to BJ, which I always wanted to ski. The straight path is the powerline. IH on the right side.

 

[Beach Bum]

Does make you wonder what impact Snowriver will have on Big Powderhorn and Whitecap. My guess is for BP it's slightly positive since they are so close to the others. If taking a long weekend trip there why not try BP for a day. Plus BP has a lot of good house rental options so that will be used as well even if people plan to ski Snowriver for part of the trip.

Whitecap may be in trouble. Seems this will put more pressure on them to pour money in and improve some of the infrastructure, particularly skiing related stuff like chair lifts. BP's doubles may scare people but they seem to be clean, well built, etc. Lifts at WC are old and have been moved around and/or not usable. Terrain is great though. It's like 40 minutes away from Snowriver so not sure if people will ski it on way up there. It could hurt their daily ski numbers.

 

[focker]

That's a good question with the valley and it'll be interesting to see what they do. I don't think they'll extend runs in between the two. Can't at BJ with the road and creek basically at the border of the existing resort. IH could possibly extend the Grizzly run area further down but it's pretty flat there.

My guess is a lift either goes from the base of Grizzly to either the base of BJ or just above that short lift on the east side. Another option is from closer to the summit of IH, though doubt they go to summit, maybe just below where that area of power lines and snowmobile trails runs across into BJ.

I doubt they go peak to peak and I doubt they go from IH base area to BJ base. The first option I laid out is like .7 miles so not much longer than other long Midwest lifts

I love Big Powderhorn. Seems to have something for everyone when it's fully open. Their snow quality is great, they groom really well, they leave certain areas ungroomed. Fun steeps and fast blues, less vertical and less length in runs than IH. It's more comparable to BJ with respect to vertical.

The double lifts just take time to get used to. I like them now since they move quickly and load close together you at least aren't waiting like some lines at IH I've had. First year was terrifying for the little ones but by year two or more it's nothing. Never seen anyone fall apart from right at beginning which happens everywhere.

Yeah I think looking at the map (which I should have done first lol) that they'll go from the base on the Grizzly area to the BJ base area. That makes the most sense and would be less expensive overall.

Indianhead from the map looks pretty big overall with a lot of skiable terrain. Plenty of Black and Blue runs as well. BP is plenty big for a day, but a lot of the runs are Greens that we just didn't even bother doing more than once. They do have some runs that are very fun though and can be lapped all day.

 

[focker]

Does make you wonder what impact Snowriver will have on Big Powderhorn and Whitecap. My guess is for BP it's slightly positive since they are so close to the others. If taking a long weekend trip there why not try BP for a day. Plus BP has a lot of good house rental options so that will be used as well even if people plan to ski Snowriver for part of the trip.

Whitecap may be in trouble. Seems this will put more pressure on them to pour money in and improve some of the infrastructure, particularly skiing related stuff like chair lifts. BP's doubles may scare people but they seem to be clean, well built, etc. Lifts at WC are old and have been moved around and/or not usable. Terrain is great though. It's like 40 minutes away from Snowriver so not sure if people will ski it on way up there. It could hurt their daily ski numbers.

I would agree that any money going into Snowriver will benefit BP as well. If you're going up there to ski for 3-5 days why wouldn't you do one day at BP when it's right there? Whitecap is further away from the others than I thought it was just looking at them on the map and much less likely to have people go there for a day to ski when they're staying in Bessemer or Ironwood and have 2 other places right near by to Ski already. BP already has a nice new lodge and plenty of redundant/backup lifts, so they're pretty well off as far as infrastructure goes.

 

[focker]

Is late December a good time to ski up in the UP? We're looking at the week between Christmas and New Years for our trip

 

[skiJ]

Should be fine ( on the U.p. holiday week ) -
Watch the snowfall total through December ;
I would want at least fifty inches of snowfall...

Jackson Creek Summit (indianhead) can cover their main trails with snowmaking ;
they do a good job at Black River Basin (blackjack) too --

powderhorn doesn't have quite the snowmaking capacity, but If the snowfall has been Good . . . ( it's good )

The porkies and Bohemia are dependent on natural snow and are often not Open until mid-January...

Good luck !
' hope that helps...


oh ! New Year's weekend is generally the second busiest weekend of the season -
I would not be anxious about crowds in the days after Christmas, until Dec.30th ;
New Year's Eve and NewYear's day can be busy...


skiJ

 

[Dwight]

Is late December a good time to ski up in the UP? We're looking at the week between Christmas and New Years for our trip

It could be good or not so good. I would imagine under Skinner's guidance Snowriver will be better this year. They don't have a lot of good quality snowmaking equipment but I bet it does get upgraded soon.

Whitecap won't have much snow. Not even sure if Whitecap will be open this season or not.

 

[MN_Drew]

From an outsider's perspective, it seems like the Lake Superior snowbelt cycle is pretty unpredictable, sometimes it is ON and other times it really is not. Was it last year or two years ago that Bohemia didn't open until nearly February?

 

[Beach Bum]

Back in the 90's full terrain was open in UP resorts, generally speaking. Just seemed colder and snowier.

But... From a historical standpoint maybe it was a few degrees colder and maybe a bit more snow. But back then resorts were open. Now they seem to struggle to fully open for Dec 26.

Blame it on the numbers, back then was the heyday. Guaranteed numbers. Blame it on lack of employment which is a major issue all around. Blame it on rising costs.

Point is, I hope all those resorts are fully open by Xmas break but it just isn't a given any longer.

Snowriver has the best chance of doing so, rightfully so.