The North Shore doesn’t have a lot of snow yet, but that won’t stop Lutsen Mountains from building its base with manmade snow. December temperatures have been perfect for snowmaking and will produce the type of snow base Lutsen Mountains wants.
Downhill skiers who are dismayed over the lack of snow have no need to worry. December’s temperatures have been perfect for snowmaking, which creates exactly the kind of base Lutsen Mountains hopes for.
Only one day in November was conducive to snowmaking—usually November brings 15 good snowmaking days. Theski area was scheduled to open the week before Thanksgiving, but for the first time in quite a few years, no runs were open by the holiday.
Eagle Ridge Condominiums, owned by Lutsen Mountains Corporation, had some cancellations over Thanksgiving, but many guests came anyway. Lutsen Mountains Marketing Director Jim Vick said some Chicagoans who usually come to Lutsen over Thanksgiving because few other places have snow by then may have stayed home to be with family.
This year’s Early Bird special, which ran through November 15, was up 17% over last year’s special. October’s cold weather may have had something to do with that. “We’re in the emotions business,” said Vick. The business sells fewer Early Bird passes during a warm fall. “When there’s snow in the backyard, people think about skiing,” said Vick.
Above: High-flying fun at the Lutsen Mountains Rail Jam on opening day Saturday, December 5, 2009. Left: Lutsen Mountains skiers hit the slopes on opening day, Saturday, December 5, 2009. A lack of snowfall did not prevent major runs from opening – snowmaking machines created a soft packed base.
Lutsen Mountains can make snow with temperatures in the 20s and 30s, but not efficiently, since the water doesn’t freeze very fast. Efficiency is also lost when the temperature goes below minus five, because the air gets really dry and the water evaporates.
When the temperatures are between five below and the teens, however, water can be turned into snow faster. With this month’s colder temperatures, 15 feet of snow can be made in the same time that two feet was made in warmer weather. Right now, Lutsen can make in 25 days the amount of snow it usually needs 40 days to make.
“This temperature right now is what [we] need more than snow,” said Vick. “We’ve made tremendous progress. We need cold and dry to get the runs open.” Manmade snow is packed and soft,he said. Thearea only gets a handful of “powder” days – at least 12 inches of fresh snow at once—each year, and it’s great for advanced skiers. It’s harder for newer skiers, however.
Snow is made and groomed for 70-80% of Lutsen’s runs, but the others are left in a more natural state. This year, a new anchor machine will keep groomers steady with a cable and a winch on the steeper hills. Vick expects all primary runs to have a 12-18 inch base by the day after Christmas. The eventual goal is a fourfoot base.
Vick considers Lutsen Mountains the best ski area—for both hills and facilities—in the Midwest. The closest comparable ski area is in Colorado or Montana, he said, and they regularly see visitors from Winnipeg to Chicago, an 8½-to-nine-hour drive either way. “We brand ourselves as ‘mountain skiing without the airfare,’” said Vick.
“What makes us different is having four mountains,” Vick said. Other ski areas in the Midwest have various runs along basically the same mountain, he said. In Lutsen, skiers can ski both sides of some mountains and be as far as two miles from some of the other slopes.
What does Lutsen Mountains do to keep its attractions new and fresh? “We try to [create] as much new ski terrain as we can,” Vick said. When he was hired in 1985, Lutsen Mountains had 27 runs. Now they have 92. Eight lifts, both replacements and additions, have been installed in that time. Two restaurants — Papa Charlie’s and the Summit Chalet at the top of Moose Mountain – have been built, and an entertainment venue has been added.
Vick was excited about one upcoming event: The Cook County Events and Visitors Bureau has arranged for the Nylons, a four-voice a cappella group with seven platinum albums, to do a Christmas concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts the evening of December 20. Papa Charlie’s was going to host the concert, but Lutsen Mountains didn’t want to disappoint customers planning to watch the Vikings there that night.
Other new amenities this year are a new lift to the top of Eagle Mountain, which will reduce congestion and add access to the steeper north-facing slopes, and a sidewalk and streetlights along the ski hill road from the lower bridge to the new bridge at the end, which will increase pedestrian safety. The improvements are “a big addition – a huge change from what it’s been,” said Vick. “The experience for the guest will be notably better.”
Other things have changed over the years as well. The environmental impacts of development have been studied, and governmental oversight has increased. Lutsen Mountains has spent several hundred thousand dollars on storm water management in the last several years, with a storm water management plan on every ski run. This summer the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency granted a permit for a new run. Wetlands have been delineated – even mid-mountain in some cases. Ski runs have more permeable surfaces and make less of an environmental impact than housing developments, Vick said. The restrooms for the chalet at the top of Moose Mountain utilize a waterless, composting system.
Safety measures are standard operating procedure at Lutsen Mountains. Every run is inspected every day. Pro patrollers on staff look out for safety concerns regarding things like signs and fencing, and volunteer national patrols help people who are lost, can’t get down a run, or are hurt.
The ski school staff is trained to give novice skiers the kind of instruction that will help them succeed. Vick highly recommends group classes and private lessons over relying on friends and family to teach new skiers.
Cook County residents can buy a lift ticket/ski rental combo for $25 on Wednesdays and Sundays, with kids 12 and under free. Season pass discounts are also offered to locals, including a $99 season pass for any resident who hasn’t had a pass in the last two years.
Lutsen Mountains has been hiring as it gears up for a good ski season. Foreign workers will be coming on, but a variety of positions are still available for locals and others looking for work.
As people make plans for the holidays, the snowmaking machines are piling up snow for the grooming machines to churn up and pack into a nice “corduroy” ski surface. If snow flies from the sky, manmade snow will continue to be stockpiled, ready to keep the hills open until spring, when even a five-inch rain wouldn’t be able to close down the runs for at least three weeks.
Let there be snow.
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