You won’t hear complaints about the winter weather from at least some business people in Western Wisconsin.
Businesses that depend on outdoor recreation are having their best season in years. Darcie Breidel, marketing director at Mount La Crosse ski hill, recently told the La Crosse Tribune, “It’s been one of our best in about eight years in terms of numbers, business and certainly for conditions.” All 19 of the ski area’s runs have been open since late December, she said.
Whitecap Mountains in Hurley, Cascade between Madison and Wisconsin Dells, Christie Mountain near Bruce and Tyrol Basin outside Mount Horeb all were reporting packed snow and excellent conditions for downhill skiing, tubing and snowboarding.
Western Wisconsin has gotten ample natural snow this season, and temperatures have been low enough for snowmaking.
It’s not only the ski hills that have benefited from the “real” winter weather the region and state has been getting. Snowmobiling has picked up considerably, which helps those who sell the machines, businesses along the trails and others.
For example, the Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce reported its parking lot has been full of vehicles with snowmobile trailers.
The state offers ample places to enjoy the sport. From the Travel Wisconsin web site:
“Today more than 22,000 miles of interconnected snowmobiling trails crisscross Wisconsin, including 350 miles of former railroad beds that convert to snowmobile ‘highways’ in the winter.
“County, state and national trails link every corner of the state and are dutifully maintained by local snowmobiling clubs.” Some of the best trails in the state can be found in northwestern Wisconsin.
The so-called “silent” sports — like cross county skiing, snowshoeing and others — also have picked up because of the adequate snow cover. Northwest Wisconsin is a region rich in Nordic skiing tradition and history and blessed with some of the best cross country ski trails in the country.
Farther south, Norskedalen near Coon Valley and other recreational areas and resorts offer groomed trails for XC skiing.
Many participants in snowmobiling and the silent sports come from other areas of the state and Midwest. Northwest Wisconsin especially attracts winter enthusiasts from the Twin Cities area. That means they stay in local motels and other lodging, eat in regional restaurants, etc.
Ice fishing also is a big winter activity when the weather cooperates. Good ice fishing has been reported on Lake Onalaska and elsewhere in the region. This also attracts people from elsewhere in the state.
Unless the weather suddenly turns warm, annual events like the Birkie cross country ski event, the Badger State winter games, the Westby ski jump and others — which have had difficulties because of warmer weather in recent years — should have almost ideal conditions.
Winter weather came early this season, before Christmas. A brief January thaw earlier in the month turned out to be a blip in the colder and snowier trend.
These businesses and industries depending on winter recreation needed this break. In recent years, many have been strained because of poor winter conditions. Some have folded.
Winter weather has not been a god-send for every business. Regional retailers have reported that some weekend storms before Christmas contributed to a slower holiday sales season. Some restaurants also were hurt because of poor driving conditions and snow.
So, the winter weather can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on what business you are in. But, some businesses in Western Wisconsin couldn’t be happier about having a “real” winter and are still singing, “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.”
