Groveland Twp.-How about some autumn skiing?
On Nov.15 Mt. Holly Ski and Snowboard Resort opened’the third earliest date in 38 years.
‘We shoot for Thanksgiving Day,? said Mark Tibbits, general manager. ‘This early in the season to have this much cold weather is just unprecedented’we’ve had temperatures in the 20s each night. But in the business of making snow, the colder the better.?
The parking lot was half full on opening day, added Tibbits.
‘When we open early people are not always ready to hit the slopes,? he said. ‘A combination of Christmas shopping, Black Friday and Thanksgiving dinner typically get in the way of skiing, but it’s really not the case this year. It was really gratifying. Last year was good but it really just got too cold. You really can’t blame anyone for not wanting to buy a lift ticket when it’s 10 below zero plus a wind chill. February was a very strong month and we closed on March 25.?
Mt. Holly added 10 more snow guns now with a total of 130 machines.
‘More snow guns gets more snow on the ground faster,? he said. ‘We also can recover and build the snow base after warming events a lot faster now.?
The number of skiers to snowboarders are about 50-50, he added.
‘More skiers are now using twin-tip skis which have a curved-up tip and tail,? he said. ‘Back in the day they were called ballet skis. The sport continues to change each year. The demand for different types of snow sports has prompted us to add a Kasspohrer-PistenBully made for grooming snowboard areas,? he said. ‘The blade lifts higher and is a very versatile machine. It’s worked great so far.?