Take-A-Ways From the Midwest’s Lackluster ’23/’24 Season

[@MidwestSkiers]

A couple of years ago, I got my wife back into skiing after a 20-year hiatus, and I have to say, the experience has been nothing short of amazing. She has fallen in love with the sport and consistently works on her ability to ski every run the Midwest has to offer in difficulty. As a lifelong skier, helping and being part of this process has been just as (if not more) rewarding than my enjoyment of the sport. I take a personal stake in her development and get more stoked than she does in her progression. The moral of the story is to introduce someone you love to this sport-you will not regret it!

[@CoasterRanger]

Great updates and commentary! There's certainly room for optimism because these companies wouldn't be spending money on improvements if they didn't think there will be skiing 30+ years from now. Let's not forget 22-23 was one of the snowiest winters on record either. The world is not going to end anytime soon.

[@leesanders5154]

If you look at places like Perfect North in Indiana or some of the places in the South like NC or WV their existence as viable ski areas are numbered….mountain biking and weddings won’t keep the doors open.

[@CoasterRanger]

@@leesanders5154 maybe. But 22-23 winter was one of the snowiest on record. 3rd snowiest ever here in Minneapolis. The notion that it's getting worse and worse every single year just isn't true.

[@KeyDash753]

Skiing is so so much more expensive than when I was young. It used to be comparable to other occasional activities like Go-Karts, climbing gym, rope courses, kayaking, paintball, etc. Now even our small local hills cost double or triple those other activities. We'd like to take our kids skiing, but just can't justify the cost.

[@evanwright1964]

As always, I bought passes in advance to support the hills, even if I might lose out due to bad weather in the long run. I'm willing to support Midwest skiing even if I risk losing out. As bad as last winter was, I was really impressed by how the locals hills were able to move snow around to keep runs open.

[@andrewschultz9277]

I’ve loved getting my wife and kids into the sport I grew up with. We enjoy that it is a family activity we can do together and get outside in the winter. We try to invite friends most times we go out! It was really cool when my kids elementary school did a ski program on Fridays including lessons at Powder Ridge. It was awesome to see so many first time skiers….but unfortunately last year the ski club didn’t happen and that was a disappointment! It takes dedicated leaders to make these things happen!

[@skip3619]

Glad you didn’t skirt the difficult discussion, but it has to be said - most skiing-related YT videos are completely ignoring the havoc being created specifically by ANTHROPOGENIC-caused climate change. Facts are all that matter, and the fact is that the northern US winters are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the nation and all other seasons. Because we are at a lower altitude than mountain west and east locations, our ski seasons are going to become mostly mountain biking hills in the coming decades. I’m 36, I can remember skiing from early December through March every single year in western Michigan. Breaks my heart to see what’s happening.

[@Speediturtle]

Hopefully carbon capture isn’t too far off in the future cause then we won’t have to worry about climate change

[@jplpagan]

this is excellent. would love to see a more detailed breakdown of these points

[@JasonTaylor-po5xc]

The challenge with climate change is that only big name resorts with a lot of money will be able to adapt, which will lead to increased pricing (and market consolidation). Additionally, as changes impact water resources, ski resorts will be fighting over water rights with farmers. It is hard to justify spraying snow on some hills for the wealthy to play on when that could be used to feed everyone else. Even now, some ski resorts in Colorado maintain their own reservoir and have to wait until it refills before they can resume making snow. Of course, this feeds into the aging demographic as only wealthier people (typically older) can afford to ski. The skiing demographic is probably older than reported because the age of those _paying_ for tickets is pretty high. I'm guessing once my college aged children are off on their own, they will opt out of skiing because they have other financial priorities. I'm really do hope we are able to create affordable solutions that allow smaller resorts to remain in business. I'm hoping last season was particularly bad because of a combination of El Nino, nearing solar maximum activity (11 year cycle) and continued climate change impacts. As we transition to La Nina, I'm hoping for a decent season - even if a bit late. My guess is that more (most?) skiing will be done indoors in 30 years where conditions can be kept constant throughout the year and natural skiing will be at elevation like in mountain states. Right now, this is done creating multi-story artificial slopes, but there is no reason we can't just enclose a large hill instead (beyond cost) - but I bet someone does it within 20 years.

[@katietrotter9374]

Does the Midwest and southeast have the youngest median age because theyre better at attracting young skiers, or just because adults give up on skiing in the Midwest and southeast because it’s…not that interesting for an adult

[@MidwestSkiers]

Generally, it's accepted that these regions see a younger crowd because: 1) It's more accessible (both cost/location) 2) Night skiing/riding 3) School and Learn to Ski/Ride groups

[@curtisharryman2228]

​@MidwestSkiers I feel like these are good reasons for 30 year olds to start or continue skiing, but they don't because of what @katietrotter9374 mentioned

[@MidwestSkiers]

@@curtisharryman2228 very good reasons, again - I think our region is key to growing the sport. Learn here, then take that trip out west and test your skills. Vail Resorts bought into the Midwest region for a reason... they're not dummies 🙃 The key is getting those 30-year-olds out. Maybe it's college specials, Friday night live entertainment, free lessons... not 100% sure but it's something we need to look into (and fairly a lot of ski areas have been!)