SAM Magazine – Taylor Falls, Minn., Oct. 31, 2014

After tweeting a shot of a virtual blizzard via snowmaking last night, Wild Mountain in Taylor Falls, Minn., opened its Front Stage terrain park today serviced by a rope tow. This comes after just 14 hours of snowmaking.

“We're doing it to let the kids come out and play,” says Amanda Frischmon, vice president.

SAM Magazine – Taylor Falls, Minn., Oct. 31, 2014

After tweeting a shot of a virtual blizzard via snowmaking last night, Wild Mountain in Taylor Falls, Minn., opened its Front Stage terrain park today serviced by a rope tow. This comes after just 14 hours of snowmaking.

“We're doing it to let the kids come out and play,” says Amanda Frischmon, vice president.

The area plans to open a beginner and an intermediate run serviced by a chairlift and additional rope tow tomorrow on a 12-inch base. Lift tickets are $20 for kids and adults.

Frischmon says the area has continually re-invested in its snow making operations allowing it to be the first ski area to open in the Midwest for the past 40 years. Wild Mountain has been the first ski area to open in the U.S. on a few occasions.

That distinction has more commonly gone to Colorado's Loveland ski area, or Arapahoe Basin. Loveland announced it plans to open at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow with an 18-inch mid-mountain base on one top-to-bottom run that's just more than one mile in length and almost 1,000 vertical feet.

"We had to wait out a few unseasonably warm weeks, but everyone's patience will be rewarded on Saturday," said Rob Goodell, director of business operations. "We are still putting the finishing touches on the base area, but our snowmaking team has done a tremendous job on the upper portion of the mountain and we are proud to offer our guests the exceptional early season conditions they have come to expect at Loveland."

Early season prices at Loveland have adult lift tickets at $51, children aged 6 to 14 pay $25, and kids under 6 are free.

Earlier Colorado's Copper and Keystone Resort announced they were delaying their openings. Copper plans to open next weekend Nov. 7. Arapahoe Basin was the first ski area to open for the 2014/15 season on Oct. 17.

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