Ski season stalls with soaring temps

Great Bear Ski Valley is tentatively slated to open later than any season in its history.

Originally, the hope was to be open this week. But Mother Nature had other plans.

“It’s out of our control,” said Dan Grider, general manager.

“We are ready as soon as the temps drop. Just have to be patient.”

For now, he has circled Jan. 1 as the date to open for skiing and snowboarding, with tubing to follow Jan. 6.

For now, the National Weather Service 10-day forecast still has highs in the 40s and possibly even 50s.

Grider said pushing opening day later and later has been a trend in his three decades of running Great Bear. The slopes used to open closer to Thanksgiving and close the first of March. But, slowly, it moved to deeper into December, and then later into March.

The latest it has opened is Dec. 28, he said.

“The shift in seasons has become evident,” Grider said, and noted it’s consistent with what other ski areas in the Midwest are reporting. “Right now, we open in that Dec. 20 period, which is three weeks later than 30 years ago.”

He said this summer he was watching the climate pattern El Nino, wondering how that would affect them. “I’ve been through these winters before,” he said. “Our attitude is we will be ready when the weather is ready.”

And they are. Grider notes that the city park is fully staffed, with team members completing their training now. And the snowmakers are making snow when they can. They need overnight lows in the mid- to lower teens, and daytime highs below 25 degrees, he said. “That would allow us to make snow 24/7, and, in those conditions, we can get the hill open in seven to 10 days.”

In an ideal world, there would already be some natural snow on the ground. “If you’re going to live up here, give us a white Christmas,” Grider said with a laugh. At this time last year, there were 8 inches of snow on the ground, and Great Bear opened Dec. 26 with all runs operational. “We’ve never done that. Then, it just continued to snow all season long.”

Great Bear offers 14 runs for skiing and snowboarding and 10 to 12 tubing lanes, as well as various cross-country ski trails from beginner to advanced.

Grider isn’t the only one who is ready – so are local skiers and snowboarders. Great Bear has sold a record amount of pre-season season passes this year. “People are definitely stoked from last season, that fabulous season we had,” Grider said. “We started selling passes in mid-October.”

Other ski areas in the region are open, including in Minneapolis, Wisconsin and Des Moines, he said. “The cold weather is just missing us. We just sit here and wait.”

Peter Oien, owner of Spoke-N-Sport, said he’s watching the weather as well, knowing it will bring in skiers and snowboarders. He said many customers travel to ski, so they’ve been getting their gear ready, but for others, they don’t think of it until the snow is on the ground. “We empathize with Great Bear,” he said. “We’re eagerly awaiting some chilly temperatures.”

Spoke-N-Sport sells skis for downhill and cross-country, snowboards and snowshoes and fat bikes. “Anything you want to use to have fun in the snow, we have – except sleds,” Oien said.

He said the best selection is right now at the start of the season. He also encourages people to examine their gear and bring it in if it needs a little help. “If you haven’t looked at your skis since last season, they probably need a wax and have some rusty edges,” he said. “When that snowstorm hits, you want that stuff ready to go so you don’t miss any precious days.”

The shop also takes trade-in of used equipment, has merchandise for people ready to upgrade, and it does custom boot-fitting.

“I love winter sports because they can transform your experience of the winter,” Oien said. “It gives you something to be excited about during the winter season, which is so long. If you have something to look forward to it, it makes that part of the year so much more fun. Before you know it, spring is here.”

Grider noted that Great Bear partnered with Falls Area Single Track to allow fat tire biking on the cross-country trails on Thursday evenings last year – they regroomed the trails for skiing on Friday mornings – and it went well.

“If conditions allow, we’d love to do it again,” Grider said. The park doesn’t make snow for those trails, so the weather would have to cooperate.

Grider said the best way to stay up to date is through social media – the park also posts regular updates on its website. “It’s very important to us to communicate with our guests,” he said.

In the meantime, you can still come out and get a season pass, a rental season pass or just come watch them make snow. Grider said they’ve added four new snow guns to the park’s inventory, increasing capacity. “If we get the right conditions, boom, we’re open.”

Great Bear also continues to perfect its workplace culture and guest experience. And, there’s always more news on the horizon. Grider noted the park is working with the city of Sioux Falls on its master plan for parks and where it fits into that.

Oien said Great Bear is a huge community asset.

“Communities all over the Midwest would kill to have a ski resort in their backyard,” Oien said. “For most people, skiing is something you have to travel to do, but we have a great option to go do after work even for an hour. It’s such a great opportunity and something so cool for a city our size.”