With the thrill of the 2014 Winter Olympics currently underway in Sochi, Russia, skiers and snowboarders can experience a hometown flurry of excitement of their…
With the thrill of the 2014 Winter Olympics currently underway in Sochi, Russia, skiers and snowboarders can experience a hometown flurry of excitement of their own with the new and improved Alpine Valley Ski Area in Chester Township.
Alpine Valley’s multimillion dollar capital improvements came just in time for a recent polar vortex sweeping across most of the country.
Peak Resorts, Inc., out of Missouri, purchased Alpine Valley in November 2012. The company is the same national company that operates Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort in Peninsula and ten other resorts including Mad River Mountain in Bellefontaine.
“All of us here at Peak Resorts are proud to be rejuvenating Alpine Valley; that for decades, has been providing winter fun for the community,” said Josh Boyd, President of Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, and Brandywine ski resorts. “It is a unique phenomenon the amount of snow that this area gets.”
April 2013 kicked off the $2.5 million renovation process that included two new ski lifts, 23 additional snow-making guns, tripling snow-making capability with a total of 33 guns, expanded terrain accessing both more and widened trails, and a relocated and redesigned Polar Blast Tubing Park.
The new quad chairlift can carry 1,800 passengers per hour with a ride time of about four minutes to all the way to the top of the mountain and a triple chairlift from Utah that runs to the top of the beginner trail.
Roomier and faster lifts equates to more time on the slopes.
“It’s about keeping people active in the outdoors,” Boyd said, donned in black sunglasses as he observed afternoon operations from the base.
Since its opening in 1965, many Northeast Ohioans learned to ski on this Geauga County winter playground, located on U.S. Route 322.
The “Learn to Ski” package is $79 and includes a one-hour group lesson, snowpass and rentals.
Bainbridge Township resident Jennifer Hoffman, a freshman at The University of Maine, remembers learning to ski at Alpine when she was 2 years old.
“I learned through the ski school program run by Uncle Bob called Uncle Bob’s Preschool Ski School,” said Hoffman, an instructor herself now, teaching throughout winter break. “I guess you can say that Alpine is like my second home in the winter.”
Pint-sized skiers and other beginners are whisked up a magic carpet-style surface lift acting as a conveyor with a rubber mat. It escorts the guest to the top of the beginner hill with ease, making learning to ski much more enjoyable than the older tow-rope and T-bar methods.
“It is much more enjoyable and manageable for those who may be uncertain of how they will handle being on skis or a snowboard for the first time,” said Alpine Valley Operations Manager Zach Thornton.
“I love my job as a ski instructor,” Hoffman said. “Teaching others about a sport that I am passionate about is very rewarding, not to mention a blast. The new magic carpet is awesome for beginners. My students love it and have no problems with it at all.”
Move over easy listening music, bulky cotton socks and old-style thermal underwear: New generations of skiers are in town, with or without their parents, clad in lightweight wicking fabrics, helmets and jamming to pump-up music on their iPods.
The sound of snowboards carving Alpine’s freestyle terrain 322 Park, named after the nearby road, filled the air as boarders took advantage of a light dusting of powder on their inaugural runs.
Thornton said the park is beginner-friendly, with a few basic features, including a rainbow box, which is a wider-curved platform to slide on.
“There is also a small jump for some rad air time,” Thornton said. “In the future, we wish to expand the park by adding more rails and boxes as well as a medium-sized jump. New additions are constantly being circulated between other sister resorts in an effort to keep each park fresh and exciting.”
With the rise in popularity of freestyle skiing and snowboarding, Peak Resorts has been a pioneer in terrain park building offering some of the regions’ premier terrain parks, he added.
“The proximity to a vast population in Northeast Ohio is what makes Alpine so unique,” Thornton said. “It is very beginner-friendly and is within a 30-minute drive to most people. We encourage surrounding residents of Alpine Valley to take advantage of our slopes because it is so close to home, affordable, beginner-friendly and fun. With three new lifts, we offer a variety of challenges and terrain for the whole family. Not to mention our new and improved tube hill, fun for any age.”
The tubing park sits where the Arrowhead trail and the Half Pipe used to be. It is longer than a football field and wide-enough for about eight to 10 tubing lanes, depending on the weather conditions. Two new handle tows take riders to the top of the hill, so more time is spent tubing.
With a step inside the rental building, guests are welcomed by a new and more-efficient rental system with rack after rack of boots hanging by arms that are constantly pumping air and keeping boots dry.
“Guests don’t have to wait to be handed a pair of rental boots,” Thornton said, also pointing out safety equipment. “We recommend helmets, which we offer this year in our rental department.”
Thornton said the Olympics are being broadcasted inside so guests can check up on their favorites, showcasing first-time medaled events like freestyle and slopestyle skiing and moguls, aerials and halfpipe.
This may also keep the dreams alive for any future area Olympic hopefuls.
“Skiing and snowboarding is a great sport to learn because you are able to take this activity with you for life,” Thornton said. “The sport offers an alternative activity during the winter months when most people stay inside.
“Amidst the days of video games and Netflix, we’re proud to offer a sport that can reach so many young people so close to home,” he added. “Not to mention, many of the top riders on the U.S. Olympic team are from the Midwest’s ski areas.”
Visit Alpine Valley’s Snow Report page to verify hours of operation for skiing/snowboarding and tubing chutes at www.alpinevalleyresort.com.
