Photo By Scott Sturkol | Whitetail Ridge Ski Area is shown Dec. 3, 2024, at Fort McCoy, Wis., as snow is being...... read more read more
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Staff with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR) are working to get Whitetail Ridge Ski Area for opening in late December, weather permitting.
Snowmaking is currently underway, and Mother Nature has been cooperative thus far,” said Recreation Specialist/Facility Manager Alex Karis with DFMWR. “We are hoping to have some snowtubing options available on Dec. 21 and 22, but still have a little ways to go for that. Depending on how cold it stays, we should be ready to go by Dec. 26.”
Karis said if the planned opening takes place Dec. 26, they will have holiday hours from Dec. 26-31 where the ski area will be open from noon to 8 p.m. New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2025, the area will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
After the new year, beginning on Jan. 2, the ski area will then go to regular hours. Those hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The ski area offers downhill skiing and snowboarding for both novice and experienced athletes. The ski hill features a 185-foot vertical drop and a self-loading T-bar. It also offers a terrain park for snowboarders.
For snowtubing, ride up to the top of the hill on the Magic Carpet, then slide down one of six 800-foot-long runs, Karis said. Tubers must be 38 inches tall, or their parents must sign a waiver.
And snowtubing at Whitetail is a great experience, Karis said based on feedback he’s received.
“Our tubing has become fairly popular, so we want to make the experience the best and safest possible,” he said.
Karis is correct in noting Whitetail has been becoming more popular. Whitetail Ridge Ski Area had its best season for customers ever during the 2022-2023 winter season with 14,465 customers, he said. The 2023-2024 winter season was hampered by lack of snow and warmer weather, but Karis said they still had a successful season.
Whitetail Ridge also offers cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails. Trails are groomed and free to use, but equipment is available to rent, if needed, Karis said.
The chalet and Ten Point Pub offer a warm break from outside activities. Relax inside and take advantage of the snack bar menu, which features sandwiches, appetizers, pizza, and drinks.
“So, for people who don’t necessarily want to go out in the cold, but if they still want to bring the family, we have food and beverage options inside,” Karis said. “We also have a deck that overlooks the ski hill with propane heaters out there. But we definitely do have areas for people who might not want to come to tube or ski, and they can come and enjoy themselves at the Ten Point Pub.”
The snowtubing hill also saw another upgrade earlier in 2024 when Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 702nd Engineer Company, which is based in Johnson City, Tenn., spent six days in early to mid-August working on a troop project that “significantly” improved the snowtubing hill at Whitetail Ridge.
In a previous news article at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/478880/army-reserves-702nd-engineers-upgrades-fort-mccoys-whitetail-ridge-ski-area-with-troop-project, Karis said the work the Army engineers completed reshaped the tubing hill in a way that will save time and effort by ski area staff.
“They brought in a lot of dirt and completed some significant excavating,” Karis said. “They helped reshape the hill and make it a little less steep.”
Karis said there was a section of the hill that needed more dirt and was an issue when it came to snowmaking.
“There was spot where we had to fill in with between 10 to 25 feet of manmade snow on that hill,” Karis said. “But they fixed that. Now it will only need 5 to 10 feet of manmade snow.
“They also straightened the lanes we’ll have for snowtubing,” he said. “They did a great job. We’ll definitely put it to the test this winter. But overall, we’ll reduce snowmaking time on that hill. … We could save up to four to five days of snowmaking.”
The area is typically open through mid-March, weather permitting.
Pine View Recreation Area facilities are open to the general public. Discounts are generally offered to military members or Department of Defense civilian employees. A visitor’s pass, military ID, or Department of Defense ID is not required to access the recreation area.
Prices for the 2024-2025 season are available at https://mccoy.armymwr.com/programs/whitetail-ridge-ski-area. Call 502-898-4498 for more information.
Also, keep track of hours and the latest special offers at Whitetail Ridge by visiting https://mccoy.armymwr.com/programs/whitetail-ridge-ski-area, Karis said.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy,” on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fortmccoywi, and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@fortmccoy.
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2024 13:25 |
| Story ID: | 487091 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort McCoy staff preparing Whitetail Ridge Ski Area for late-December 2024 opening, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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