Hiawatha Slopes overcomes ski hill damage

CHATHAM, Mich. (WLUC) - The Hiawatha Slopes Ski Hill in Chatham was damaged by off-road snowmobilers last Thursday.

Trevor Case has been the ski hill manager for 10 years. He said the base of the ski hill was completely destroyed.

“They all had long tracks with big paddles on them and dug trenches up the hill to make it not skiable,” Case said.

This was not the first time the hill has encountered damage like this.

“When this happened three years ago, we had to shut down for two weeks and literally not even be open because they rutted it down to the grass and we didn’t have enough snow to fix it,” Case said.

Case said members from the community got together to help him fix the hill all day Friday. They packed the snow down with snowmobiles and groomed it in time for weekend fun.

“We did our best and we got it right for the kids. There were 40-60 kids here this weekend using the hill and enjoying it,” Case said.

And, this speaks volumes to what the ski hill means to Chatham families.

“The people in this community really care and they’re willing to jump up and help any way they can,” Case said.

Case encourages snowmobilers to stay on designated snowmobile trails and areas and to pay attention to signs. There are many ‘no snowmobile’ signs which can be seen around the hill.

“We all like to get off the trail a little bit and cool our sled off but it’s a different story when you’re ruining someone’s winter recreation.”

The ski hill will be holding a chili cookoff fundraiser Saturday, February 4 at the Rock River Township Hall.

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