Michigan Ski Blog – Skiing and Snowboarding in Michigan

Most people think we’ve got it made in the summer. The reality is that we work hard and try to get all of our projects finished before the snow starts flying again. Below are some of the changes that you should notice around here this year.

Racing: Last year we invested in some new wireless timing gear and let our snowsports instructors experiment with some fun races in various locations around the hill. This year we are bringing regularly scheduled racing back to Big Powderhorn. Sundays will be the day to look for a chance to race and for a modest fee you can race against the clock, a friend or your whole family. Most of the time the course will be set on Dynamite Trail but we will also be mixing it up with other locations around the mountain to keep it interesting and test your ability to adapt to different terrain. If you have a group that would like to race on a different day or have your own private race, give our Snowsports School a call and see what they can do for you.

Terrain Parks: Last year we added some rails and fun boxes to our parks. This year we are fine tuning our system and adding a couple new items. Our park design team will be setting up Oxbow Park to have a good mix of features in the beginner to intermediate range and Powderkeg Park will be geared more for intermediate to advanced riders. Even though Oxbow is geared to be a bit less challenging, it does have a couple of the biggest rails in the Midwest if not the country. Our straight rail is over 115 feet long and the rainbow is an arch that is over 65 feet long and can reach over 7 feet above the snow depending on the amount of snow we have and how it’s groomed.

Trails: Last year Katie’s Catwalk became the newest, steepest, and narrowest downhill trail at Big Powderhorn. This year we fine tuned it a little more and bought a special snow gun just to blow snow in this tight area. This should make for some great conditions on this double black diamond trail for those of you with the ability to ski it.

Children Ski Free: With every adult lift ticket purchased, you can get a child’s (9 & under) lift ticket for free! The child’s ticket must be requested at the time of the adult ticket purchase and it must be for the same number of days and the same dates. The savings from this deal can save more than enough money to pay for the gas for the entire trip!

Wine Huts: Big Powderhorn now offers three cozy trailside huts for your private lunches or get-togethers on the mountain during your ski day. We provide the fire, grill, charcoal, and staff to transport your food to the huts for a very nominal fee ($20). Call ahead to reserve your hut or to get more details on this popular option.

Hill Hopper Lift Tickets: Big Powderhorn is working closely with Indianhead ski area to bring you the Big Snow Country “Hill Hopper” lift ticket. This year the Hill Hopper has become a truly interchangeable lift ticket! There are no more vouchers to be redeemed each day and you don’t need to visit the ticket office to change hills. One visit to a ticket counter is all that is needed for your entire stay. Because of this change in format the Hill Hopper must be used in consecutive days. Hill Hoppers may be purchased as 1, 2, 3 or 4 day packages and you qualify for a FREE child (9 & under) package with each adult package purchased. Both the adult and child Hill Hopper must be for the same number of days and the free child package must be purchased at the same time as the adult package. The Hill Hopper may be purchased at each of the resorts ticket counters or over the web at the www.bigsnow.com website.

Visit Big Powderhorn Mountain Website >>>