Get outside and play in the snow! That’s the drive behind January being the nationwide “Learn a Snow Sport” month. What better place to learn a snow sport than our own local Wild Mountain! I sat down with vice president, Amy Frischmon, last week and she had a lot to tell me about what’s going on over in Taylors Falls.
Whether you are 5 or 85 there is a snow sport out there for you to learn. Amy says she even knows some skiers and snowboarders who have had full knee replacements and they still get out there on the slopes! Now is the best time to learn how to ski or snowboard too, especially with the deals they have going on at Wild Mountain. Right now you can get three lift tickets, three ski or snowboard lessons, and three equipment rentals all for just $99. The best part is that the lessons are GUARANTEED! That’s right that means that if you don’t feel comfortable skiing or boarding down ALL of the green and blue runs by the end of your three lessons they will continue to give you lessons until you are! Remember, skiing is easier to learn than snowboarding. So if you’ve been out on the slopes before and tried your footing with a board but it wasn’t quite the right fit, don’t just give up, give skiing a try as well!
In regards to the unusually warm and brown winter we had here in Minnesota last year, one would generally assume that would equal a pretty devastating year in the ski and snowboard recreation industry. However, this is surprisingly not the case. Amy actually told me that she “would prefer to have weather like last year every year,” with her only improvement being just a bit, “more snow from God!”
The successes of skiing and snowboarding recreation areas are dependent on several factors. “We are so dramatically affected by not just the weather but what the weather forecasters say…right now we’re having a good ‘skiison’” Amy says, “but you know it’s tough when you lose a weekend you don’t make up… because I mean I’m guessing no one is planning on coming skiing Sunday or Monday,” She says in regards to the MLK Holiday weekend last week, “when they say it’s going to be a high of 2 above no one is planning to say ‘Let’s go skiing this weekend!’ ya know…I mean it’s hard to make up for a lost weekend. But that’s the nature of this business we’re in…we just keep going. “
In spite of the warm weather we encounter some years, Wild Mountain is able to create all of their own snow by machine, making it possible for them to regularly be the first ski area in Minnesota to open its runs each year. In fact, because of the weather conditions this fall Wild Mountain actually ended up being the first ski area to open its runs to customers in the entire nation! That means that on October 7th 2012, Wild Mountain Ski Area in Taylors Falls, Minnesota was the ONLY place in the United States of America that an avid ski or snowboarder could purchase a lift ticket and head out onto the slopes!
So when you head out of the house to learn your new snow sport this winter, stay local. Skiing or snowboarding at Wild Mountain not only will allow you to give back to your community, you will also encounter much less crowded slopes, and almost always great snow conditions! For more information about Wild Mountain please visit their website at: www.wildmountain.com or call them at 651-465-6365