Shortest season ever for some West MI ski businesses
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Ski businesses in West Michigan struggled this winter with some of the shortest seasons on record.
Although ski resorts and areas typically open in November or December and close in March, this season, a majority of them opened mid-January.
One of those businesses was the Cannonsburg Ski Area in Cannon Township. It opened on Jan. 18, which is one of the latest starts they’ve ever had. Forty-three days later, on March 3, it had to close for the season. That makes it the shortest season in the history of the ski area.
“It was definitely a season to forget,” Danielle Musto, the marketing director at Cannonsburg Ski Area, said.
Cannonsburg Ski Area lost more than $1 million this season and had to let go of 15 to 20 of its full-time staff.
“It was just really hard in general, not being able to give the hours because we weren’t able to open earlier,” Musto said.
Bittersweet Ski Resort in Otsego had similar problems. They were only open for 52 days this season. They are typically open for 120 days. The resort also saw a decrease in skiers hitting the slopes, losing around 30% of the 55,000 to 80,000 skiers that they see each season.
One reason they say that number decreased is because of the lack of snow. Ski businesses need a large amount of snow and cold temperatures in order to get a base for skiing and snowboarding.
The lack of snow also confuses customers, according to Bittersweet Ski Resort. They said because people don’t see snow in their backyards, they don’t think that the resorts are open. They encourage skiers and snowboarders to check their webcams for conditions during the season.
Another reason for the short season was warmer temperatures for long periods of time. Ski businesses use snow guns to create artificial snow to mix with natural snow. If the temperatures are not cold enough, it can cause all of that snow to melt.
“We were making snow whenever possible. But then it was always so disappointing when you would see temperatures, you know, rising up to like the 50s and 60s because you know that all of like the hard work, is just going to melt away,” Musto said.
The lack of customers and the short season is causing Cannonsburg Ski Area to cut back and figure out what to do next in order to open next season.
“…We always use that (winter season) revenue to get through to (the) next season. So we’re just pivoting and well, we’re moving forward. There’s not a lot of money left to make investments that we want to make to improve our winter operations. So that’s always the hardest part when you have a winter like what we just experienced,” Musto said.
She said the ski area is not going anywhere and thanked the community for their support this winter.
“People were actually emailing us and saying, thank you for doing everything that you can to stay open,” Musto said.
Ski businesses throughout the state struggled this winter, but unlike businesses in the Upper and Northern Lower Peninsula, businesses in West Michigan were unable to qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the federal government. Forty-two counties in Michigan were placed on drought designation, however, counties in West Michigan did not make that list.
Cannonsburg Ski Area is now looking ahead to its summer season and trying to make a plan for next winter. Staff with both Cannonsburg Ski Area and Bittersweet Ski Resort said they hope this next winter is snowy and cold.
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