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Midwest 2022-2023 Midwest Ski Resort/Conditions/Meetups
- Thread starter Dwight
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TS
Well, if you had rain more than snow, you would of been sick of Winter a few months ago.
River is open now, so it can warm up real quick to water ski. 
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I ended up running out to Trollhaugen last night as my son wanted to ski on the last day of his spring break. Snow was pretty damn shitty to be honest. I think without some warm weather on a ski day it will continue to be icy and rutted up like it was. Any day skiing is a fun day.
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I also talked with one of the managers at Troll last night (I think he name was Trevor?) Anyway he said that they have enough snow to stay open several more weeks but that they just aren't getting many people coming out there during the weekdays. There was probably less than 40-50 people on the hill in total yesterday.
He said both they are Welch will likely be open the first weekend of April, but that's about it. They don't think they'll have the snow to stay open for Easter weekend.
He said both they are Welch will likely be open the first weekend of April, but that's about it. They don't think they'll have the snow to stay open for Easter weekend.
Impressed with 60 people in 60 min
www.waow.com
Granite Peak chair lift malfunctions, forces evacuations
RIB MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WAOW) -- More than 60 people needed to be evacuated from a malfunctioned chair lift at Granite Peak Ski Resort Sunday.
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Well this is pretty cool. On a sunny high pressure day with visibility as far as the eye can I see I kept looking for land across the lake and spotted it facing left of center from near the peak at Porkies. Was hoping to see Isle Royale which is more straight away or right of center, but didn't.
Anyhow I 100% spotted land and took this picture. You can vaguely see a stretch of elevated terrain above the horizon. One of the employees said it was likely the Apostles Islands but no I wasn't facing that far to the left.
Pretty sure this is what I was looking at. That whole stretch of coastline in the Arrowhead around Lutsen +/- 10's of miles has a ridge close to 1,000' above the lake level.
Anyhow I 100% spotted land and took this picture. You can vaguely see a stretch of elevated terrain above the horizon. One of the employees said it was likely the Apostles Islands but no I wasn't facing that far to the left.
Pretty sure this is what I was looking at. That whole stretch of coastline in the Arrowhead around Lutsen +/- 10's of miles has a ridge close to 1,000' above the lake level.
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Just read this BB:
The formula for determining how many miles an individual can see at higher levels is the square root of his altitude times 1.225. Thus on a clear day at 1,000 feet a person with normal vision can see 39 miles; at 10,000 feet, 123 miles; at 25,000 feet, 194 miles.
It looks to be about 55-60 miles from the Porkies to Lutsen. Being that those mountains are ~ 1000+' higher than the coast line you definitely could see them from there.
The formula for determining how many miles an individual can see at higher levels is the square root of his altitude times 1.225. Thus on a clear day at 1,000 feet a person with normal vision can see 39 miles; at 10,000 feet, 123 miles; at 25,000 feet, 194 miles.
It looks to be about 55-60 miles from the Porkies to Lutsen. Being that those mountains are ~ 1000+' higher than the coast line you definitely could see them from there.
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Troll just announced their last day is Saturday, April 1st. I don't think the huge rain storm we got last night helped the snow much....
Welch is saying their last day is 3/26 with a 'possible' bonus day. Sunday is also Wild Mountain's last day open, as well as Afton Alps.
Welch is saying their last day is 3/26 with a 'possible' bonus day. Sunday is also Wild Mountain's last day open, as well as Afton Alps.
Figured I owed you all a mini TR.
I skied Lutsen on Saturday & Sunday this weekend. Wife ended up passing on the account of Saturday's 40+ mph winds, which was a good call... I skied all day and it was one of the coldest days I can remember on a mountain. They also closed the gondola for wind, and Moose Return is closed all season apparently, so getting back to the village required a 30-45 minute wait for a snowcat ride. That said, I was impressed with the pockets of good snow, particularly in the trees. (Along those lines, was impressed in general that Lutsen had some real tree runs.)
Sunday was absolutely beautiful. 30-40 degrees bluebird, and the wind died down, so it was perfect. I had to leave around 1:00 PM to head back to the cities, but I had a blast lapping Upper & Lower Bull run. It seemed to be the most consistently pitched groomer on Moose Mountain, and definitely the best carving I've experienced in Minnesota.
It's not the Rockies, although it's priced like it is ($110 lift tickets and 2-bedroom condos for $850/night), but I had fun and will definitely go back.
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While I like Lutsen, I am seriously wondering how long it will be until they price themselves out of the local skiers market. Sure, there's always going to be people who have a ton of $$ and will ski there regardless, but $110 for Lutsen is a ridiculous. I know weekdays are cheaper which is when we typically ski there.
The best way to ski Lutsen is to get an Indy Pass by the way. If you KNOW you're going to ski Lutsen next year, but the Indy Pass. You can ski Spirit on the way up there or back (I recommend skiing Spirit before Lutsen) and you can ski several other local hills throughout the year as well.
Me too. I had a fun time, but my wife and I were actually having the conversation on the way home... does it make more sense to go to Lutsen for a weekend or Colorado/Utah? Several Colorado mountains are cheaper, and even even the travel time is pretty similar when compared to same day skiing in SLC.
(Edit - Along the same lines, my wife would have probably bundled up and taken on the elements on Saturday, but with rentals + tickets looking like $200, she didn't think it was worth the weather risk.)
I am considering the Indy Pass next year, but my value will mostly depend on where I take my western trips. On the low end, I'll definitely do 2 days at Lutsen ($200) + 1 day at Buck Hill ($50), but that still puts me in the red compared to the $300 pass price. I'll try to squeeze in a day at Trollhaugen + Spirit, but neither are guaranteed. So then it really comes down to where I decide to take my solo western trips. Current contenders:
- Sun Peaks/Big White/Silver Star ($0 value from Indy Pass)
- Crested Butte/Wolf Creek/Monarch ($0 value from Indy Pass)
- Spring skiing Mt. Bachelor ($0 value from Indy Pass)
- Targhee/Snow King ($75 value from Indy Pass)
- 49 North/Silver/Lookout Pass (~$150 value from Indy Pass)
- Powder Mountain/Beaver Mountain/Sundance ($200-300 value from Indy Pass)
- Fernie/Castle ($70-140 value from Indy Pass)
- Brundage/Tamarack/Bogus Basin ($200+ value from Indy Pass)
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Yeah agree. when we did Indy pass a couple years ago, we decided we were not going out west and instead did a trip to Lutsen and one to the UP. We wanted to get to Granite Peak as well but it didn't happen. We also used two days at Trollhaugen that year. The pass was well worth it with what we skied.
If not skiing much, the Indy is tough to have payback. I have to hit at least 6days min and even then if more local, maybe it's break even.
I pondered the idea of buying the pass late in current season for the following year. Get a few days in the current spring and have the pass for the next season. An extra few days on it tips it favorably with less risk.
Even if not, I still wouldn't lose much so I figure worst case, it got me out to the slopes a few more times than I may of.
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Wow I'm surprised by that. I had thought they were putting in the high speed but leaving that triple. I like lapping that chair and not having to go all the way to the bottom when skiing Eagle.
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Skied Afton on Saturday and it was marvelous > as long as it freezes overnight, which has been happening this whole month, the grooming is top notch > just get there for the 9:30am open and ski corduroy for 2-3 hours with 0-10 people in the lift line before it slushes out
Thread Starter
TS
Nordic has decided to stay open for one more weekend. First time they have been open in April. Will give it a go on Sat. Most likely, a few runs and then the outside deck to soak up some rays and Knuth's Red Ale.
Now let's hope the rain on Friday doesn't ruin great plans.
Now let's hope the rain on Friday doesn't ruin great plans.
Anyone have thoughts on likely conditions and crowds at Lutsen Easter weekend?
Kiddos soccer game got cancelled on Saturday so considering making the trip to close out our season. Would be nice to use the Lutsen days on our Indy passes.
We're from central Iowa so considering the distance would be hoping for nice spring conditions.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
Kiddos soccer game got cancelled on Saturday so considering making the trip to close out our season. Would be nice to use the Lutsen days on our Indy passes.
We're from central Iowa so considering the distance would be hoping for nice spring conditions.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
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I would say to look closely at the weather. This time of year the ski hill can be perfect corn spring conditions or a sheet of ice.
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