Minnesota ski areas, winter sports businesses hoping for a ‘normal’ winter

The light bands of snowfall that fell Tuesday across parts of Minnesota may be a sign of the season.

“Right now we’re on snow watch,” declares Ben Bauch, Trail and Trailhead Director for the Loppet Foundation. “So the temperatures drop. Once we get around the 28-degree mark, we can turn on our snow guns and start making snow.”

He’s not the only one hoping for the big chill to hit our state.

Andy Knaeble, the manager of Instant Replay Sports in Bloomington, hopes winter comes roaring like a lion.

“We’re just hoping this year turns out to be quite a bit cooler, below freezing,” he smiles. “That’s what we’re asking for.”

Knaeble says he doesn’t want a repeat of last season’s mild weather.

He notes that he sold plenty of skis and snowboards, but skates? With many rinks closed or with limited opening hours last year, not so much.

“I was left with 300 pairs of skates, so that’s a lot of skates,” he says. “Usually I’m back with 80. Skating was non-existent for the most part, so I’m hoping for a different result this year.”

At Trollhaugen in Wisconsin, staff are already making snow — a contrast to Hyland Hills Ski Area in Bloomington, where the higher elevations are still green.

The employees there also hope to avoid a repeat of a mild winter.

“It’s hard to have anyone wanting to come skiing when it’s temperatures you don’t normally associate with mid-winter activities,” explains operations manager Andrew Berns.

He says Hyland Hills saw about 187,000 visitors between Thanksgiving and mid-March — an average attendance — because they were able to make artificial snow without the help of Mother Nature.

Although Berns says cold weather is a necessity and he hopes to make snow in the first week of December.

“Most importantly, the temperatures have to be below freezing,” he notes. “We like it to be at least 28 degrees, and the drier it is, the less humidity, the better. “

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the state’s nearly two dozen ski areas added nearly 2,800 jobs during the first quarter of last year.

After a pandemic decline, it was the highest number in a decade.

The Minnesota Ski Areas Association says the total economic impact increased to $380 million during the 2021-22 season.

The Loppet Foundation also hopes for cooler temps.

Last season, the Luminary Loppet had to be held on land due to problems with thin ice.

This time the organizers say they are ready.

“The Luminary still happened, even though we had to move it on the ground, we still hosted it and had thousands of people at the Lake of the Isles to celebrate winter outdoors,” Bauch says. “It was a magical night and we’re still moving forward, whether it’s on land or not, we’re taking it forward into the coming season.”