While the Midwest was technically the first in North America to have lift-served skiing, the region’s ski industry has had a slow start.
In October, Trollhaugen hosted Openhaugen, an expansive event that features a snow-covered rail park. This was made possible by tarping off snow from the prior winter. However, it’s been a warm past month in the region, making snowmaking impossible for most.
However, after the long wait, the Midwest’s ski season officially kicked off this weekend.
The first to have skiing this past weekend was Perfect North Slopes, which hosted a rail jam on a small snow patch. These efforts were made possible by their two Latitude 90 snowmaking systems, which can produce snow at warmer temperatures.
Thanks to a small window of opportunity, ski resorts across the Midwest began snowmaking operations. According to Midwest Skiers, over 40 ski resorts made snow during the weekend. This included Andes Tower Hills, which had enough time to open up some terrain.
On Sunday, Andes Tower Hills opened up for the 2025-26 season. On Sunday, skiing was available on the Bunny Hill, which is accessible from the Turtle Express Magic Carpet. This made them the first to open for lift-serviced operations in the Midwest. Today, Andes plans to open the Milky Way chairlift and Frikadilly trail.
Today, Trollhaugen and Wild Mountain joined the party, beginning its 2025-26 ski season. Both ski areas will also have chairlift-serviced operations.
Unfortunately, warm temperatures are back on the menu later this week. This will likely deter other ski resorts from opening up. It appears that temperatures will warm up on Tuesday and remain that way through the end of the week.
Hopefully, an extended snowmaking window will come soon for the Midwest.
Update 11/10 at 4:50 p.m.: This article previously omitted Wild Mountain’s opening today. It’s now been added.
Image/Video Credits: Andes Tower Hills, Perfect North Slopes, Trollhaugen, Wild Mountain
