Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
SKIERS OF ALL ages gather Sunday at Indianhead Mountain in Wakefield for the final day of skiing for the season. The slopes, chairlift and Summit Lodge were full of folks looking for the last opportunity to ski or snowboard. Whitecap Mountains Resort in Upson, Wis., also closed its season on Sunday.
By P.J. GLISSON
The skiing season ended this past weekend on a busy note, despite recent warnings of coronavirus and various health mandates from state and national officials.
Big Snow Resort featured a final day of skiing on Sunday at Indianhead Mountain in Wakefield. The same resort's Blackjack location in Wakefield Township closed on Friday.
Whitecap Mountains Resort in Upson, Wis., also had its final day of skiing on Sunday.
Big Powderhorn Mountain in Bessemer already had closed on March 15, and the Porcupine Mountains Ski Area in Ontonagon closed on March 14.
"We had hoped to be open to the middle or end of April," said Matthew Vaugn, CEO of Big Snow Resort, as he worked in Indianhead's Summit Lodge on Sunday.
Instead, because of coronavirus warnings to limit crowds, Big Snow updated its website several times this week, reporting on March 16 that its restaurant and bar services would operate only on a takeout basis for lodge guests.
By March 19, the site provided greater details regarding "social distancing" and related precautions, and by March 20 announced that Sunday would be the final day of the season.
Vaugn said that employees who would have been laid off due to reduced operations instead had been reassigned to cleaning duty.
Despite the spring eclipse, Vaugn said the general season was "fantastic."
In reference to plenty of snow at the end of last year, he said, "We had a great start."
Vaugn said that, historically, the hill has attracted a lot of business from the Milwaukee/Madison area of Wisconsin, whereas skiers now also come from further south and west.
"Overall, the skier visits are up," he said, reminding that Indianhead also celebrated its 60th anniversary this winter. "Lodging has been amazing."
Although he said all operations would cease as of today, he adding of the summer season, "We're hoping that by May 1 we'll be able to open fully."
In line with Big Snow's intention to push its operation as a "year-round resort," the summer resort schedule, now listed on the website, has been amped up.
"The intention is to have the Sky Bar open year-round, seven days a week," noted the CEO, who also envisions yard games, live music, and other structured entertainment.
In addition, he said staff will be busy with a summer maintenance schedule that includes rotating through the lifts and tending to the hill and the various buildings.
David Dziuban, resort manager at Whitecap, also was pleased with a sound season overall.
"Everything's been going great," he said by phone on Saturday.
He said that 99.9% of patrons have been cooperative with health directives that include, as one example, standing six feet apart in ticket lines.
In addition, the hotel's restaurant and bar have been operating lately on only a carryout basis.
"I gave notice to the employees that pretty much everybody will be off until April 1," said Dziuban, who added that Whitecap officials have "every intention" of moving toward the summer golf and ATV season.
Regarding next year's ski season, he said, "We're just taking a 'wait-and-see' approach," but added that he is optimistic about recent national reports of medical success in treating the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19.
