Indiana — One of the more surprising ski industry stories to come from this summer concerns a former ski area in Indiana. Crews have been working this offseason on clearing The Pines ski area for future operations. Also known as Pines Peak, the small ski area operated from 1962 to 2008. It was abandoned for a decent stretch, which led to some cool abandoned exploration videos. However, reports this year suggest a revival is underway.
Earlier this year, Peter Brooks of Skiers and Snowboarders of the Midwest reported yesterday that a new group has come in to revive Pines Peak. They’re aiming to operate a snow tubing hill the first year, and then expand into skiing and snowboarding in future seasons. Snow guns are on site, and they’re working to see if the quad chairlift can be revived.
A local realtor (Matt Evans) got a scoop on some more information regarding the opening of Pines Peak. Apparently, the company (Wisconsin Resorts) taking on the project also owns other ski resorts in the Midwest. These ski resorts are Searchmont in Ontario, Bittersweet in Michigan, Pine Knob in Michigan, Mt. Holly in Michigan, Alpine Valley in Michigan, and Alpine Valley in Wisconsin (yes, very confusing). They’ve brought in Spaulding’s Tree Service to clear up the slopes for the winters ahead.
Recent Midwest Ski Area Revivals
Rebuilding Midwestern ski resorts is easier than in other regions because they are smaller vertically than those out West and in the East, and because land rules are less strict (i.e., less government-owned land). Because of these facts, we’ve seen a series of Midwestern ski resorts come back from the dead in recent years. It’s nearly spooky season, so a resurrection around this time of year seems fitting.
Revivals in the 2020s have so far included Paul Bunyan Ski Hill in Wisconsin, Adventure Mountain in Michigan, Tower Mountain in Michigan, Steeplechase in Minnesota, Norway Mountain in Michigan, Thrill Hills in North Dakota, and Nutt Hill in Wisconsin. Sleepy Hollow in Iowa is now being used as a synthetic ski and (mostly) tubing slope, but it could be revived for winter skiing in the near future.
While not technically a revival, someone is trying to open a lift-served operation in Minnesota less than a mile from the old Sugar Hills ski area. The new ski area, Mad Bear Alpine Area, could open this winter.
Image Credits: Matt Evans (Spaulding’s Tree Service), Skimap.org
