Midwest Upper Midwest 2020-2021

[Jenny]

First day at Caberfae today. Skied for about an hour and a half before the scrum at the bottom of the lifts was too much. Saw a Pugski sticker on the skis in front of me in line once, but person on them didn’t hear me say "Hey, Pugski!" (Or did, but didn’t want to talk, lol!)

 

[afski722]

Nub's skied very well both days. Its impressive (as always) the amount of snow they had made despite the general lack of natural snow and sustained cold weather. Like I said, on the slopes, it felt like normal. Almost every run on the front and south is open and they had all the lifts on each side spinning. I miss the Blue Lift. Pintail Peak is close to opening as they started making snow back there last week, they need another 2-3 days of snowmaking to get that open, with the cold returning on Christmas eve is should be open by 12/27 or 12/28.

Wife & I skied Saturday until about 1. She originally wasn't going to ski without a lodge but it was warm enough and she was eager to go skiing and said she'd just sit in the car if she got cold. A couple inches of wet snow fell throughout the morning which quickly mounded up and got pushed around. It was super fun to be back out on skis It was busy Saturday morning, and it was evident there is a combination of a) early-season excitement as it was the 3rd day of the season, b) cabin fever and/or not a lot of other things to do with everything else close/restricted/etc. c) more people on the lifts with the lodge closed and less people loitering around. Saturday morning was about as busy as I'd probably feel comfortable skiing. Lines were generally non-existent, but I'd rather just go when its ski-onto the lift. Some cool tailgate set-ups in the parking lot btw.

Sunday, today, was excellent. The conditions were great, good groom, and it soften up since it was mid-30s all day and snow almost a bit corn-like. Crowds and lines non-existent and felt like a typical Sunday crowd at Nubs with the usual locals. I skied solo until about 12:30 and all was good.

Overall was good to be out on snow again. Felt overall good with how things were being run in the pandemic era, no issues whatsoever on the slopes and lifts. The set-up for food and beverage looks good. The new serving area on the deck looks pretty cool and looks like it will be awesome in years ahead on sunny spring days. You can go in the lodge to use the restrooms, pick-up food, and use the general store. It was super weird seeing the lodge completely empty of all tables and chairs. The set-up works on days like this weekend with moderate temps, but no way I'd want to hang out on the deck when its 10 and windy.

After tomorrow, I'm not skiing again until after New Years. (going back downstate and want nothing to do with the Christmas week crowds) The Christmas week crowds are going to pressure test everything. I think everything will work well when we get to the regular season and typical weekday and weekend crowds. Christmas week is going to be silly season as usual and I'd rather just stay away.

 

[afski722]

We heard that Boyne Mountain was a major CF on Saturday. They had limited terrain and really only had the Mountain Express and Victor running and lines on the 6-pack stretched 50+ yards. Ticket window lines were said to be over an hour. They cutoff lift ticket sales.
Lots of angry comments and pics on FB that were eventually deleted.

I don't think Boyne Highlands had any issues but too many people showed up on opening day at Boyne Mt with far too limited terrain.

 

[focker]

What's up with places like Whitecap have they made any announcements of late? I mean one of their worst snowfalls to date sucks but don't midwest resorts have snow making equipment? Bohemia and Porkies don't but they pretty much advertise that.

And what about Big Powderhorn? They were making snow for awhile as shown on their webcam and it's like they threw in the towel the other day. They wouldn't be opening this weekend and I don't see any snowguns on in the webcam but that only covers part of the hill. Anyone up in that area, do you see any snow making going?

Resorts that typically get 180+ inches of snow don’t typically have 100% snowmaking like many Midwest resorts do. They’ll come alive n e the snow does. People that ski a lace like Mt Bohemianate watching the forecasts closely and know when things look good.

 

[bubbamsu]

We heard that Boyne Mountain was a major CF on Saturday. They had limited terrain and really only had the Mountain Express and Victor running and lines on the 6-pack stretched 50+ yards. Ticket window lines were said to be over an hour. They cutoff lift ticket sales.
Lots of angry comments and pics on FB that were eventually deleted.

I don't think Boyne Highlands had any issues but too many people showed up on opening day at Boyne Mt with far too limited terrain.

I heard that as well. We decided not to go up this weekend because of the lack of snow. We have a place in Boyne City and the whole area is hurting for natural snow. We have not had to pay for the plow guy yet.

Our friends were up there and we heard the lines were atrocious, major headaches and a lot of angry people, a complete shit show. The half way house on Victor was pad locked but the deck was wall to wall people. There was a lot of singles cutting the lines and trying to join groups/families. They just don't have enough runs/lifts open and looking at this weeks forecast, there is no way they will have the place open to handle the demand and I am not too eager to go over the Holidays at the moment.

I am lucky to have a place near by and a Gold pass, so I can ski for a hour or two and leave, there is no way I would pay $100 + for a day pass for 6-10 runs and long lines.
Going to be an interesting season for sure.

 

[DerKomisar]

Ugh, we already had booked a few days this week for Boyne and have no way to cancel without losing our deposit. Never expected it to be as limited as it looks to be and not looking forward to the throngs of people.
Any idea if Highlands is any better? We might even pay extra to go to Nubs if that is less crowded.
Interesting season for sure.

 

[Dakine]

Nubs skied great today with a thin crowd and really fast snow.
I expect that will change on Friday when it will be too busy for my comfort.
After Thursday, I'll take a break till after New Years.

 

[afski722]

Yeah. I think a lot of "locals" are going to avoid skiing over Christmas week.

Boyne Mountain sold out advanced lift tickets online Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue this week. There are some for Wed-Sat (12/23-26). After that nothing until Sun 1/3.
That will at least help somewhat but with all the season passholders and house guest who knows.
A lot of people who rented VBRO/AirBnbs without buying passes are going to be out of luck, particularly the ones that didn't realize that despite it being on Boyne property it wasn't rented through Boyne.

Then again, these people have to have been living under a rock the past 9 months to not realize everything is capacity restricted.
With the cold snap coming on Chirstmas eve that runs out through the end of the forecast period they should be able to get some good snowmaking hours over the weekend. By early next week, everyone should have a lot more lifts open to spread things out..

The lack of natural snow means that there aren't a ton of other winter activities like cross country skiing, snowmobiling, etc. and then layer on how there is no gathering/indoor dining and the like is no wonder there is insane pressure on the ski resorts currently.

 

[Dwight]

Thought of a new thread, but I'll post it here. It is now official. Big Snow is up for sale.

500 Indianhead Rd, Wakefield, MI — MLS#1124055 — First Weber Real Estate

Wakefield Home for Sale 500 Indianhead Rd, Wakefield, MI Listed under MLS # 1124055

www.firstweber.com

 

[MN_Drew]

Wow.

Hope it goes to someone who is going to be able to take care of it and put the investment in that is needed. But with what seems like a trend of declining visitation and a lot of deferred maintenance, sure seems like there's a real risk of it going under. What's the growth potential here? I don't think it's with the local population. At 4 1/2 hours from Minneapolis, 5 hours from Milwaukee, and 6+ hours from Chicago, and with other good options closer, is it realistic that someone could ever build up the crowds that would be needed to pay for the investment that's going to be needed soon? It seems like a lot of these resorts that are dependent on overnight visitors but are running lifts that are 40+ years old and have hotels and lodges that are similarly aged are running on borrowed time. Sooner or later they need to start rebuilding their infrastructure.

 

[Beach Bum]

Wasn't Powderhorn on sale too, I recall posting a similar real estate ad last year. Assume it's still for sale. Such fun Midwest and family skiing, hopefully nothing goes under. All of those from the original big snow country have potential to improve, hope some investors find it in them.

 

[Dwight]

Powderhorn is still for sale. Big Snow is making money, unfortunately it is health related for the sale.

This may also be the Porkies last season too. Michigan DNR messing things up.

 

[Beach Bum]

Powderhorn is still for sale. Big Snow is making money, unfortunately it is health related for the sale.

This may also be the Porkies last season too. Michigan DNR messing things up.

Supposed to go there in a few weeks but with the lack of snow and them announcing a Jan 2 opening date we may not make it. Hopefully they get a decent amount of snow these next few days. Are there some news articles out there?

 

[Dwight]

Are there some news articles out there?

Not that I am aware of.

 

[Beach Bum]

Not that I am aware of.

I did Google and quickly find an RFP from the MI DNR asking for bidders to take over operations of the ski resort and park. The dates on it ran thru much of 2020 so it's current, though not sure if they had any bidders or how that process is going. The RFP itself is usually public information which is why it can be found online.

It wants summer activities as well as a new lift among other requests.

Separately, big snow on the way for that region. Ironwood resorts may take the cake with this one now showing 12-18" thru tomorrow and more at times over coming week. Also maybe a big storm for much of that area down thru all of WI around Dec 30-31 hope that pans out. If all this happened Porkies will be just fine come opening day.

 

[MN_Drew]

Looks like it's setting up to be a great storm. Just started snowing here in Minneapolis. Looks like a huge swath of heavy snow from south-central MN up through NW WI, NE MN, and into the UP. Lake effect should get going tomorrow as well for Bessemer and Porkies.

Perfect timing to help everyone get the rest of their runs open just in time for the holiday busy period!

 

[DerKomisar]

We’re up at Boyne for a few days and got an early Christmas present of a few inches of much appreciated fluffy snow and it’s still coming down. There’s a rumor that they’ll possibly open a few more runs soon. Fingers crossed. It was a little mushy yesterday but it froze overnight and was nice to get a topping of fresh snow. Might be even better tomorrow over here. Hope everyone in the UP is getting some white Christmas magic too!

 

[Beach Bum]

Skied Chestnut today, first time out with many more to go this season. Cold, crisp, fast, light crowds, with the family, not a cloud in the sky, bald eagle above, big river looking like frozen glass below, a great day!

 

[Dwight]

Looks like around 20" of snow in the U.P. That is a good start.

 

[Dwight]

Wed?....