SNOW WONDER
Midwesterners look forward to skiing, snowboarding

Midwestern skiers and snowboarders get fired up when the weather turns cold and snowguns fire up at their local areas. "We have a webcam and people are always checking on our website to see if we're making snow yet," says Scott Stillings from Nub's Nob, Michigan. "People will see the snowguns going and then call us and say, 'Hey, the guns are going!' They're so excited and psyched for skiing and snowboarding. It's what they live for."

Midwestern skiers and snowboarders start hounding their local ski areas weeks, and sometimes months, before they open. "We get calls from people who live three or four hours away," says Amity Betz from Hidden Valley Ski Area in Missouri. "When are you opening? Are you opening early? And the kids on our website keep asking, 'Is it time yet? Is it time yet? My snowboard is getting lonely.'" But it's not just kids who are anxious for the start of ski and snowboard season. "I had a gentleman out here in October who is in his 80s and was getting his season pass," says Betz. "I see him out here at least once or twice a week skiing all winter."

At Buck Hill in Minnesota, Jessica Stone says, "Minnesotans love their seasons and fall is such a transformation from summer to winter. They are reading their ski and snowboard magazines and gearing up. People are psyched for winter." One way they gear up is by attending the annual ski and snowboard equipment swap each September, hosted by the Buck Hill Ski Racing Club. About 2,000 people traditionally attend the three-day swap, selling and buying used ski and snowboard gear and apparel.

Nub's Nob in Michigan does a similar event in early October each year, with a ski and snowboard swap that benefits the local high school team, equipment tuning specials, season pass sales and a huge barbecue lunch. "We had more than 1,000 people this year," says Stillings. "People in Michigan tend to embrace winter, and they're ready to ski and snowboard."

Mad River Ski Area in Ohio also does its annual Ski and Snowboard Swap in October. Nearly 700 people usually attend the one-day sale, coming from as far away as Fort Wayne, Indiana, two hours away. "The swap is an annual tradition," says Mad River's Brian Papworth. "It's a great place for families to purchase a first set of gear for kids, and parents really love it. Everyone is at the ski area and they're looking forward to winter and the season."

Virtually all Midwestern ski areas offer "early-bird" discounted season passes, encouraging their customers to buy less-expensive season passes during the summer and fall. The passes then reach full price before the areas open. In its innovative "Master the Mountain" program, Mad River Ski Area also offers season pass discounts to groups of 15 people or more, including school, businesses and simply groups of friends. The largest group is actually more than 200 people from a local school.

Most Midwestern ski areas send out e-mails to their customers as the temperature drops below freezing and they are able to start making man-made snow. Many Midwestern areas are able to open their slopes after just a few days of sub-freezing weather. And when the ski areas do open, says Betz of Hidden Valley Ski Area, "There are people who have anticipated it for months and months. We always have kids waiting for us to open the ticket windows."

For more information on Midwest ski areas and to find a ski area near you, visit snowplaces.com.