Top Ten reasons to still Ski or Snowboard in the Midwest

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When it comes to winter in the Midwest, skiing and snowboarding don’t come to mind for a lot of people. Many dread the cold temps, snow shoveling, lack of sunshine, and the daylight going away before 5pm. However, for those who are dedicated or love to see the seasons change, winter means being able to still stay active outside. Growing up in Ohio, it didn’t matter that my local resort was only 300 feet tall. I, like many other dedicated skiers and snowboarders just loved being able to slide sideways down a hill with friends. The excitement each season brought and the feeling you get riding down a mountain still remains unchanged to this day. I recently took a trip home to get away from the daily grind in a ski town and see family along with riding my home mountain for a couple days. Through this trip I thought of at least ten great reasons to still ski and snowboard if you live in the Midwest.

Mad River Mountain located outside of Bellefountaine Ohio overlooks farmland and the countryside

1. Lift Ticket and Season pass prices are Affordable

   Cost is a huge barrier to entry, if not the biggest barrier for people getting into skiing or snowboarding. Lift ticket prices in places such as Tahoe, Colorado, and Utah can get above $200 a day now. Buying equipment doesn’t make it easier with full setups costing upward in price of $1200-1500 per person. If you’re a growing teenager or kid, this makes it even more difficult. Lift ticket prices at midwest resorts such as Mad River Mountain, Trollhaugen, Hyland Hills, and Afton Alps all range from $35-60 dollars per day with local season passes being around $400-500 dollars. Mount Bohemia in Michigan has a season pass price of $99!, if you get the pass earlier in the season. A lot of these resorts are open later at night and Lift ticket prices are even cheaper if you ride after 3pm.

2. A great way to learn the Fundamentals

   Skiing and snowboarding requires a lot of technique, control, and understanding how to turn your skis or snowboard. When it comes to perfecting your craft, repetition is the key to improving and getting better at any skillset. The nice part about Midwest resorts is that you can get reps and fast laps in on the local tow rope or two seated chairlift. It’s the reason some of the best riders in the world come from small resorts. Riders such as Stale Sandbech, Mikkel Bang, Marcus Kleveland, and Enni Rukkajarvi all grew up riding small resorts in Norway or Finland. It’s the same reason a lot of incredible riders are starting to come out of places such as Minnesota or Wisconsin. Tommy Gesme, Ethan Deiss, Danimals, and even professional skier Lindsey Vonn started out riding Midwest Hills. Also, because you don’t have much in terms of terrain, you make the most of what you do have and perfect your riding even more.

3. Operating hours are longer and most resorts offer Night Riding

Most resorts out west only operate until 4pm. There’s a few that offer night riding such as Keystone, Brighton, and Boreal but for the most part resorts open at 8/9 am and close at 4pm. I believe a lot of this has to do with cost and weather. It’s obvious that it cost a lot more to operate a larger resort then a smaller midwest hill. That’s the great part about riding in the Midwest, most resorts offer night riding and are open from 9am-9/10 pm at night. This allows you to show up mid-day ride for a few hours or show up after school and ride. A lot of schools offer Ski Club programs that provide transportation to the resort after school, which is really cool. Parents are usually working later and it allows kids and teenagers transportation to the resort if they don’t have a drivers license or car. Growing up Mad River offered Midnight Madness on Friday and Saturday nights, open until 2am! I don’t think they offer it anymore, but it was a cool and different experience.

Kurt, a local Michigan rider on the Burton Descendant. Softer more forgiving boards such as the Burton Name Dropper, Yeasayer, Rewind, and Descendant are great for Midwest hills because of their playfulness and pop. Perfect for riding the terrain park or treating the hill like a skatepark.

Because resorts in the midwest are fairly small, a lot of focus goes into building a great terrain park with plenty of features

4. Most Midwest ski resorts are within close proximity to major cities and communities

A lot of the midwest resorts are 20-60 minutes away from major cities and smaller communities. This makes access to the resort not only easier, but also more affordable. Resorts such as Hyland Hills and Buckhill in Minnesota are 20-30 minutes away from downtown Minneapolis. Mad River Mountain and Snow Trails in Ohio are an hr outside of Columbus. Mt. Brighton and Pine Knob in Michigan are 45 minutes away from downtown Detroit. Some Midwest resorts can be out in the country which is nice because you don’t usually hit traffic. Living in Ohio, to get to the mountain I would take a few back roads to the resort and within 35 minutes I was at the base.

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5. Ski Passes are connected to resorts out West, Canada, and around the world.

More ski resorts are being bought out or partnered with by larger Ski Resort corporations each season. The benefit to all of this is not having to buy expensive lift tickets at all of these resorts. It’s a huge game-changer from just ten years ago in the ski industry and fascinating to watch the changes go down. There’s positives and negatives to it happening as resorts will only get more crowded, but at the same time, it allows you to travel around, riding different resorts and not spending as much money. The Ikon pass is connected to two ski resorts in Michigan, Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands. For each destination in Michigan the pass holder receives 7 days of riding. With Ikon there are 15 unlimited resorts and 28 resorts with 7 days of riding allowed at each destination. If you live in Michigan, now you have the option of a taking a trip or two and using your ski pass at any of the other 40 destinations. The Epic Pass has a number of Midwest resorts too including; Afton Alps MN, Mad River Mountain OH, Boston Mills OH, Brandywine OH, Hidden Valley MO, Snow Creek MO, Wilmot WI, and Mt. Brighton MI. With an Epic Pass you can ride at each of these resorts for an unlimited amount of days, but you also have access to many other Epic Resorts around the country and world including Japan, a buck list destination for many riders.

6. Parking is free and the parking lot is at the base of the Resort.

It’s nice to be able to park at the base of the resort without having to take a bus to the mountain, Gondola, or pay up to $50/day to park. Parking can sometimes be tough at larger resorts as it tends to fill up quickly on weekends and holidays. Tourism and weekend warriors from major cities fill up parking garages and parking lots quickly at many destination resorts, which can make it even harder to get to the mountain. What’s nice about the Midwest is most resorts are ridden by locals and parking is free, located at the base of the chairlift. It’s nice to be able to go back to your car for lunch or shed a layer, drop off/pick up the camera, etc without having to rent a locker for the day.

Hot Laps through the Terrain park in AK outwear is one of the added perks of Midwest riding

Kurt with a front board on a pair of Burton Malavita’s in Capital Park, Ohio’s largest terrain park

7. Terrain Parks

Most Midwest terrain parks have a lot to offer and continue to grow and expand each season. When you don’t have much you make due with what you have. That’s exactly what a lot of resorts have done with putting a lot of time and resources into building great terrain parks for young freestyle skiers and snowboarders to progress on. Resorts such as Hyland Hills in Minnesota and Trollhaugen in Wisconsin have become known worldwide in the snowboard scene due to their quick tow rope laps and skatepark like terrain parks which have drawn in many professional riders over the years to these Midwest spots. Since most resorts are no more then 300 vertical feet, the number of laps one person can take on any given day is quiet a lot.

8. The Lodge

Most Midwest resorts have a lodge at the base that feels like a hang out spot. The lodge at Mad River growing up had a pool table, fireplace, bar, and dining area to hang out in if we weren’t taking laps on the hill. Unfortunately it burned down in 2016 and isn’t quiet the same as it once was. However, most Midwest resorts still have their original Lodge from when the resort was built, giving the resort more character and a home-like feel.

9. Low Key Atmosphere

Even though the runs are quick and terrain is limited. Resorts in the Midwest tend to have a more low key feel to them. The majority of people riding these small resorts are local residents within the state. The crowds and lift lines overall are usually smaller, since these aren’t really considered destination resorts other then maybe Boyne Mountain in Michigan and Lutsen in Minnesota. Crowds, if any are typically when schools are out for winter break. It’s a nice benefit to not run into traffic driving to the mountain, parking at the base, and then lapping the resort for a few hours.

It’s not much, but still a lot of fun to cruise around on snow with your friends

Humble Beginnings

10. Still a great way to stay active in the winter

At the end of the day, snowboarding and skiing are are fun ways to stay active and healthy outdoors in the winter. Not only are the hills small and the laps quick but the days are short, sunshine is minimal, and the temps can get pretty cold for midwest winters. That being said, it’s still an opportunity to make friends, learn life skills, and find something that you can become passionate about.