Skip to main content

Thanks for a Great Opening Weekend!

We had an excellent first weekend of skiing and riding at Black River Basin. It was fantastic to see so many families and friends enjoying time together on the slopes over thanksgiving weekend. The weather was a real treat with warm bluebird days on Friday and Saturday that felt more like early March than late November. It was the perfect opportunity to try out the new deck furniture while soaking in some rays and a cold drink. It's not too often we get the chance to do that so early in the season. 

While the weather was superb, my favorite part of the weekend was the chance to meet so many of the people that call these hills home for the winter. The soul of skiing was alive and well on the slopes over the past four days reminding me that it really is the people that make the place. So, now’s as good a time as any to introduce myself to the Snowriver community.  

My name is Benjamin Bartz, I assumed the position of General Manager of Snowriver at the beginning of October. This has been a bit of a coming home for me, having grown up just shy of two hours south in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. As a kid, I spent nearly every weekend traveling north to ski with my family in Big Snow Country. I fell in love with skiing here in the UP, where I made countless memories straight lining Shanty Girl, racing through the “woods trails” in Bear Creek and sneaking through the trees off the East-T.

I dreamt of turning my love of skiing into a lifestyle, and by the time I entered high school I knew a career in the ski business was all I wanted to pursue. Gogebic Community College's program in Ski Area Management was the obvious choice for me. I lived in the UP from 2013 - 2016 while pursing my Bachelor's in Ski Area Business Management before making the the inevitable move of every midwestern ski bum to Colorado in 2017. Following a short stint in the pricey paradise of Summit Country, I made the move back to the Midwest where I spent the next 5 years as the Mountain Operations Manager at Giants Ridge in Northern Minnesota.
 
As the General Manager, I believe in the power of communication and want to keep you in the loop with all that we have going on to improve your experience as a guest, build a sense of community and provide some insight into our business’ operations. As a skier I always wanted to know what was going on at the hill, so in that spirit I’ll do my best to give you a behind the scenes look at the transformation as it unfolds.  

When the opportunity was presented to come and work with Midwest Family Ski Resorts and the team here to revitalize these legendary resorts, I simply couldn’t turn it down. The Skinner family has proven their dedication to the midwestern skier, and I am thrilled to be a part of their team working to bring this resort to its full potential.  


 

Snowmaking Update 

After a warm weekend, the snowmaking team is itching to get the guns running again at Black River Basin (Formerly Blackjack). With cooler temps rolling into the region on Tuesday night, our goal will be to freshen up the terrain we had open over the weekend, then get into some new terrain as soon as possible. NASTAR Run and Shanty Boy will be the big focus for this week with hopes of getting them opened sometime this coming weekend. After that we will get some guns running on River Drive to build a connection from the back side of the hill and begin working on Log Jam.  



What I'm looking forward to this week is getting the snowmaking system up and running over at Jackson Creek Summit (Formerly Indianhead).  In the brief time since purchasing the resort, upgrading the snowmaking systems has been a priority of the MFSR team. Over 80 new electrical pedestals and water hydrants, 100 new hoses, and 20 new snow guns were ordered for the summit.


Unfortunately, supply chain delays have pushed installation much later into the season than we'd hoped. Nevertheless, all the materials are now on site and a large majority have been installed with the final few finishing touches expected to be completed early this week. We'll get snowmaking started first on Voyageur's Highway, Superior (formerly Chippewa) and the Beginner's area at the top of the mountain, before moving on to Sundance, Alpenglow and Borealis.



Renovations Update 

The week ahead will be exciting at Jackson Creek Summit as we have numerous projects headed towards completion, the biggest of which is the new outdoor ticket windows. The team has completely reconstructed the frontside of the Sugar Maple Chalet and has it looking very sharp.

We expect delivery of the new windows this week, which are slated for installation before next weekend. I am looking forward to the streamlined experience this will create for our guests. All product sales and redemptions will be taken care of by our staff through these windows, keeping the indoor space available for our guests to get geared up or enjoy a snack.  

The Gabbro Suites (Formerly Chamonix, Zermatt and Kitzbuhel) are also nearing completion. Our facility maintenance team has been doing an incredible job with the refresh of these rooms. All the new furniture is assembled and finishing touches are going in every day. They tell me the first units will be completed within a week or two and I can’t wait for our guests to see them.  


There are many more awesome upgrades coming for this season, stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to opening day at Jackson Creek which is scheduled for Friday December 16th.


Can't wait to see you all on the slopes!


-Benjamin, GM



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Opening Weekend at Jackson Creek Summit

 Yesterday was opening day at Jackson Creek Summit. It was exciting to welcome guests into the renovated Summit Center, now named the Sugar Maple Chalet. It was fun to watch our long time season pass holders check out all the changes we'd made to a place they've been so familiar with over the years. Who knew carpeting and anti-slip vinyl flooring could be such an exciting change.  The rental shop is finally finished and welcomed it's first renters yesterday. The space turned out great thanks to the hard work from many hands. It's so neat to see families get outfitted in their gear before heading straight onto the beginner slopes, just a few steps away. Our staff particularly appreciates the opportunity to watch their customers take their first turns, instead of being stuck in the windowless shop they previously called home.  We did have a few hang-ups in our plan that caused us to modify our operations for opening day and the rest of the weekend. As part of the construc...
2 comments
Read more

A Flurry of Activity

The Sugar Maple Chalet (former Summit Center) is really starting to come together, with renovations wrapping up in preparation for our opening day this Friday. Between contractors and our own team, there is quite the flurry of activity going on as I write this morning. We're going to be running down to the wire with a number of finishing touches. The new ticket windows are nearing completion, with just the windows themselves yet to be installed. Delivery is scheduled for Wednesday, and the crew will get to work on installing them as soon as they arrive. In the meantime, we'll be working on setting up the computers with our point-of-sale systems to be ready for our guests on Friday. Once complete, all day tickets and rentals will be sold out of these windows. Season pass pickup will be available at the guest service counter inside the chalet. The new carpet, paint, and furniture has made a tremendous difference inside the chalet. The classic charm of the building really shines w...
1 comment
Read more

Just Getting Started

I had the opportunity to get out skiing with my Dad and my Sister on Sunday to wrap up the weekend. It was great to be out on the snow. Shanty Boy was a blast. Smooth, fast, and steep. Was fun to think that we're really just getting started, with so much more terrain to open and enjoy this season. The conditions were made even better by my brand new boots from Big Snow Outfitters in Bessemer. Growing up, my first few pairs of skis and boots all came from BSO's retired rental fleet, so of course it was the first place I thought to look to get my slightly packed out boots fitted properly. Walking into the store brought back so many childhood memories of stopping by the store after a day of skiing to enjoy the warmth of the wood burning fire and browse around dreaming of what equipment I'd buy when I grew up. The nostalgia must have got to me because it wasn't long before I was walking out with a new pair of Lange boots. Apparently the boots I'd been rocking for the pa...
1 comment
Read more