Another perk of the winter season is among us: snow sports.
Ski resorts are finally open and hopeful for a great season even while waiting for snow. Limited snowfall and above freezing temperatures have made it difficult to accumulate enough powder to open many trails.
Erin Ernst, Director of Communications at Boyne Mountain Resort in Charlevoix County, said they are awaiting colder temperatures.
“It really doesn’t take us long once we get the consistent cold temperatures to be able to make snow and we can expand terrain and open up more very quickly,” she said.
Ernst said half of the lifts are currently running but she is hopeful that snow accumulation will open more terrain. She said they usually open 100% of their terrain, it’s just a matter of how long it takes.
Because of the limited terrain, she said they have limited the number of tickets for sale. They recommend skiers plan ahead.
“We are limiting the sale of public lift tickets because we have more limited terrain that’s open right now and as we are able to expand terrain then we’ll also expand the availability of those lift tickets but as it stands right now, we have a few dates during the holiday season that are still available for day lift ticket holders but otherwise we’re sold out,” Ernst said.
The upcoming week will be primetime for some ski resorts like Crystal Mountain in Benzie County.
The science of making snow involves more than just freezing temperatures. Pressure, wind, and humidity are all factors.
Sammie Lukaskiewicz, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Crystal said they try to make as much snow as they can as quickly as they can.
“With as many snow making guns as we have, we have about 153 across the skiable terrain. We can make a foot of snow in about 45 hours so under the best conditions, we can cover pretty much the entire mountain relatively fast,” she said.
Like other mountains, Lukaskiewicz said they have had to limit mountain capacity due to little terrain being open but again, as snow accumulates, tickets will become more available.
