Midwest Minnesota 17-18 Season

[Gentry]

I really like the old-school feel of Welch, and when the Back Bowl is open on weekends, you can get a lot of varied runs in. I rarely get bored there. They have steep runs, short black diamonds in the back, casual blues, a good terrain park if you're into that. I go there pretty often, I'll be there again this Thurs to help chaperone my niece's ski trip

 

[wallyk]

I really like the old-school feel of Welch, and when the Back Bowl is open on weekends, you can get a lot of varied runs in. I rarely get bored there. They have steep runs, short black diamonds in the back, casual blues, a good terrain park if you're into that. I go there pretty often, I'll be there again this Thurs to help chaperone my niece's ski trip

IMHO....Welch has some really solid terrain and the best in the area. It's not a big place, size or vertical but I agree about the old-school feel.....those lifts!!!! Only thing that Welch is missing is a music system with music from the 60's, 70's and the 80's!!!

 

[BaconMeCrazy]

Does anyone here ski Welch on a regular basis?

I'm there often.

Welch is having a hard year. The extreme cold temps during the holidays really hurt. They've had some nice follow up weekends but from what I understand the lost holiday revenue is hard to make up. Buy a hat, get a beer, tell a friend, spend some money, unfortunately, they don't have deep pockets to fall back on like Afton. I'd like to see them stick around for a long time.

I would agree with what other people said about the vibe at Welch, there's some really good people that ski there (skill level and character).

I really like some of the moves they've made recently including adding the MTB trails last summer, CHEAP season pass this year, moving the bumps to Wild Finale, improvements in the park, and showing old WM flicks the previous weekend. Word has it that once racing is over, Dan's will be all bumps.

I'd like to see them to stay open later in the season, though, I understand why it's hard for them to do so. However, it's really hard to give up skiing mid March and then having to wait a month or more for all our local MTB trails to open.

Closing during the day on Monday and Tuesday was a bummer for me. I often took advantage of those days with low crowds.

They also have a decent number of tele skiers and that number seems to be growing. I'm sure there are a few opportunities that they could capitalize on with that crowd. None of the local hills offer telemark lessons any longer......just saying.

 

[midwestfabs]

Given the rough patches some of the smaller hills are having do to weather, lateish starts, etc. will be interesting if w/ new ikon pass multiresort pass ala epic, will peak the interest of that in any of our local hills especially since some already had/ have had some type of reciprocity agreements with the individual resorst that are now part of that conglomerate.

If it does happen where they buy or merge with one of our local hills, will definitely give folks around here plenty of options.

 

[wallyk]

I'm there often.

Welch is having a hard year. The extreme cold temps during the holidays really hurt. They've had some nice follow up weekends but from what I understand the lost holiday revenue is hard to make up. Buy a hat, get a beer, tell a friend, spend some money, unfortunately, they don't have deep pockets to fall back on like Afton. I'd like to see them stick around for a long time..

Agreed about the temps keeping people away and had the same thought about the holiday/new years week and then MLK weekend. Those days sure are some key points for a ski area and this year must have put a dent in the revenue flow.

We're there almost both days each weekend, albeit some of these temps are just too cold to take my kids outside, and have been happy to just do laps on the lifts. Up and down and then huddle on the triple chair with my two girls in between. pretty cool AT/tele scene and there are some quality skiers who blaze around Welch.

Would love to do a run with some peeps from PugSki some time.

 

[focker]

Just got home from two days at Giants Ridge for the high school sectionals SL races they held.

Man I am impressed with Giants Ridge overall. First, I should mention I haven't been there since ~1992 and I couldn't hardly recognize the place. I skied there a lot in HS and just about everything has changed. New amazing lodge. Very impressive overall. Great on site lodging options. We stayed in the main lodge and it was very nice. Comfy beds, 12' ceilings, quiet rooms, good service, etc. The cabins across the road on the lake were very nice as well. some of the other parents stayed over there and we were able to check those out as well. The cost of staying at the main lodge at Giants Ridge is HALF of what it costs to stay on mountain at Lutsen, and the rooms are newer and nicer.

Giants Ridge just installed two new lifts this year. One is a high speed detachable quad that is very similar to the new 6 pack high speed quad at Lutsen. The other is a fixed grip padded chair quad similar to the newer lifts at Welch. While we were there the fixed grip quad had a major breakdown at 10:00 am the required them to rope down around 30-40 kids and adults off the lift. While the patrolers knew what they were doing and started getting the kids (most people on the lifts were HS racers in speed suits) down quickly, the outside temps was -3 and it took them nearly an hour to get all the people off the lift. My son was on THE highest chair and was roped down from over 30' in the air. Quite a good story for him to tell but he was not happy about the whole deal and was close to frostbite in some areas. He was up there for 50 minutes total.

Giants IMO is much nicer than Spirit Mountain and worth the extra 60 miles driving to get there. From my house GR is 200 miles and Spirit is 140. We've gone to Lusent nearly every year for 5-6 years but it's going to be a hard choice next time we have to decide. While Lutsen is certainly a better ski resort overall (more terrain, better views, live music each night, etc) Giants Ridge is a way better value. For the money it is hard to beat.

Overall GR feels a lot like the Eagle Mountain part of Lutsen with slightly longer runs and a HS lift. They have some very nice steep groomers that are just a blast to lap. We racked up a serious amount of vert for the midwest.

 

[TonyPlush]

Good info @Slim and @focker. I'll be girlfriend skiing, so comfort is definitely a priority. Good to know about the afternoon shade.

I'll shoot for Monday mid-day. The GF has a college ID, and their specials page lists $19 passes with a college ID. Might be a package deal with some rentals though.

Monday also has the visiting pass holder special:



Would be great if my Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus counts.

Checked out Spirit Mountain for the first time yesterday. I was definitely impressed.

Yesterday was clear and sunny, so the views of Duluth and Lake Superior were fantastic. The Chalet is really something. Apparently there was some sort of wind-chill warning, and it stayed about 5 degrees with a noticeable wind all day. Needless to say, the Monday slopes were vacant, and it felt like there were maybe 10 people on the whole mountain. Spirit Express and Gandy Chair were the only two lifts running.

As opposed to my experience at the Twin Cities hills, where you take 3 turns and you're down, Spirit definitely felt more like real skiing.

Four Pipe was a great green groomer for the girlfriend, and she said it was the perfect length. Juggler Joe and Double Jaw were fun too, and Timber Cruiser could have you fooled into thinking you're in Colorado for a second. The Bullwacker/Gandy Dancer/Bear Claw side of the mountain has a good pitch, and I was able to carve the turns harder than I ever have in Minnesota.You're reminded where you are when the run ends so quickly, but overall, I had a blast on this side. Definitely scratches the itch a little bit.

I was also surprised at the quality of the corduroy. As far as I know, it hasn't snowed in Duluth for at least 10 days, and yet I didn't hit an ice patch all day. It's probably because of the serious lack of traffic, but still I was impressed. In Colorado, groomers can get skied out the morning after a storm. Spirit's corduroy still looked and skied fresh by 5:00 after weeks of no snow.

I was really happy. I'd given up on MN skiing somewhat, but this trip definitely sparked my interest again.

BTW - not sure if this applies to anyone here, but the college ID discount is indeed $19 for a ticket during weekdays. Can't beat that.

 

[Gentry]

Thanks for the report. I'm planning on heading up on President's Day. Excited for a LITTLE bit more vertical than the local hills.

 

[TonyPlush]

Thanks for the report. I'm planning on heading up on President's Day. Excited for a LITTLE bit more vertical than the local hills.

You're right to put emphasis on the little. It's still not a ton, and my expectations were pretty low going in, but that extra 200 ft. of vertical and 1/4 mile of length really makes a big difference.

 

[whitefeathers]

Bear claw and Timber cruiser were my favorites when I was there.

 

[Gentry]

2018-19 season passes available now for Welch for $250

Add $50 for the rest of the season.

http://welchvillage.com/seasonPasses.cfm

Probably gonna pick that up.

 

[wallyk]

2018-19 season passes available now for Welch for $250

Add $50 for the rest of the season.

http://welchvillage.com/seasonPasses.cfm

Probably gonna pick that up.

I would wait........paid $135 in March last year. From a finance prospective, I can imagine that Welch has had nothing short of a poor year. Terribly cold during Christmas and MLK Day weekends, and we were at Welch yesterday, President's day, and there was no one there, ice keeping people from the slopes.

 

[Dwight]

Local hill has their passes on sale too.

https://www.nordicmountain.com/season-passes

Cheapest they will ever be. $259/single

 

[wallyk]

Was at Welch on Saturday and Monday......empty. No lines at all. Saturday was a solid for Welch.....couple inches of fresh and as mentioned before no lines. Figure that the people went "north" to ski or traveled. No overcrowding at the magic carpet, beginners double lift had a line but no way that the wait was more than 5 minutes. I skied laps until I got bored and then watched my daughter and her friends train in the gates.

Heard that Afton was crowded on Sat.............

Welch is simply the best area in the Twins Cties metro area. (I don't work there)

 

[Gentry]

I would wait........paid $135 in March last year. From a finance prospective, I can imagine that Welch has had nothing short of a poor year. Terribly cold during Christmas and MLK Day weekends, and we were at Welch yesterday, President's day, and there was no one there, ice keeping people from the slopes.

Do they generally drop in price near the end of promo timeframe?

 

[wallyk]

I don't know how Welch structures their pass pricing, have only been there for 2 years. But last year which I saw more skier traffic at Welch, I ski there almost every weekend, management dropped the price to $135 during March. The promo was in the middle of the month into the last weekend.

 

[BaconMeCrazy]

Do they generally drop in price near the end of promo timeframe?

Not usually. The price at the end of the year is the best you'll find. Don't expect the same price as last year.

 

[focker]

Not usually. The price at the end of the year is the best you'll find. Don't expect the same price as last year.

Agreed. I would just pull the trigger on a $250 single pass there while it's available. That's a great deal.

We're buying a family pass to Trollhaugen next year, as they deduct my sons season pass that's paid by his school from the total amount. Should be able to get a pass for my wife, younger son and I for $600 total.

That will allow us to ski some Saturdays, as we typically avoid them now due to the high cost of day skiing tickets. This year I just had a Sunday pass that I paid for rather quickly. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights there are pretty cheap already which makes it hard to pay for a season pass. Tuesdays and Thursdays are only $20 after 5:00

 

[focker]

5-8" projected for saturday night. Sunday could be an amazing ski day here locally.

Also going to get 3+" tomorrow night as well. Nice!!

 

[focker]

Good Video for you weather geeks about tonight and Saturday's storm