Two western U.P. ski resorts are under new ownership this season.
BESSEMER -- The sun was out, the grass still green in Big Snow Country on Friday, but the bosses of Blackjack and Big Powderhorn Ski Resorts say they can't wait for the white stuff to start falling in this, their first ski season as owners.
"There's three main owners and then there's a number of shareholders that have purchased Powderhorn Mountain, all passionate skiers and boarders, people who have a real interest in seeing the Powderhorn area grow and succeed," said Bruce Noren, Big Powderhorn's new General Manager.
It's already a massive area, boasting enough lodging to hold 2,000 people. But Big Powderhorn plans to add ice rinks, access trails, snowshoe trails, more features on the hills for snowboarders and they plan to cut the cost.
"The price change we've had is we've lowered our prices. We've maintained our weekend rate and we've added special value on the mid-week and lowered our mid-week rate and we've lowered our season pass rates," Noren said.
Blackjack's new owners also hope they've scored a 21. When they bought the resort, they knew they had an ace-in-hand; now they're just looking to add the face card.
"As soon as we saw it, we saw a huge amount of potential here, something that could really become something. We've got a good resort with a good reputation, something that we could really improve into something that's great," said Rick Schmitz, Blackjack's new GM.
Blackjack's prices are also either at or lower than they were when the resort closed two years ago. And now, Schmitz says the "fun is back."
"'Fun is back' is the slogan we're going on this year. The resort has a great history of a lot of fun and a lot of great stuff going on here. And we're just going to try to expand on that and just have a great time out here," Schmitz said.
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