Minnesota skiers get an early start to the season

TAYLORS FALLS, Minn. (FOX 9) - This week skiers and snowboarders around the metro are making the trip out to Taylors Falls. That’s where Wild Mountain is once again one of the first ski hills in our area to open for the season.

"We saw the snow, and it was over with. We knew we were coming out the next day," snowboarder Samuel Pariseau said.

This week Wild Mountain has been able to start welcoming winter athletes, thanks to several days of hard work from its maintenance crew.

"We had a crew that came over the weekend, through the night they were making the artificial snow," Wild Mountain’s Jesse Schraufnagel explained. "We were waiting for the lower temperature so that the snow will stay… the snow may melt, depending on if we get the rain that’s forecasted for the weekend. Otherwise, if the temperatures stay in our favor, we still plan on making snow throughout the evenings."

Crews needed temperatures below 20 degrees to make snow. But they were also blessed with some natural snow on Halloween.

Still, the vast majority of the snow on the ground was made artificially; and that means the ride isn’t quite perfect yet, "It’s a little slow, but it’s good to start out the season with something slow, you can get the feel back," Pariseau said.

Crews at the resort will continue to make snow each night, as the hill is now open seven days a week, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25.