Rope Tow Revival: Midwest Ski Season Begins at Wild Mountain, Trollhaugen, and Andes Tower Hills

There’s something special about the first rope tow burn of the season — fresh chopper mitts, legs sore after the first few hot laps, and that smell of fake snow hanging in the air. It’s here again. The Midwest is officially open for business.

At 1 p.m. yesterday (November 10), Wild Mountain, Minnesota, opened up Expressway, serving top-to-bottom turns from Chair 1 and the Front Stage rope tow. It’s classic early-season Wild: one trail and a small park. The park crew even managed to set six-to-eight features in the terrain park to keep things stimulating. Lifts spin until 8 p.m., and $35 gets you on snow.

Wild plans to run daily from 1 to 8 p.m. until they can open more terrain - the pattern every Midwestern skier knows by heart. Expect snow guns, some bare spots, and that feeling in your chest you get knowing winter is actually happening.

Over at Andes Tower Hills, a magic carpet preview Sunday turned into an official opening yesterday. The hill fires up at 3 p.m. with both a lift and carpet running — and at $20 a ticket, it’s tough to find a cheaper stoke fix anywhere in America.

Meanwhile, Trollhaugen, Wisconsin, is right there in the mix. They flipped the switch at 3 p.m. yesterday, with Chair 3 and the park rope tow running until 8 p.m. (and staying open till 9 on Friday). For $30, you can get your first laps of the season under the lights — which, at Troll, basically means reunion night for half the Midwest snowboard scene.

By next weekend, Troll plans to roll into regular hours, opening at 10 a.m. Saturday if temps hold. In true early-season fashion, their message is simple: plans may change.

If you’ve been watching from afar, you may have already seen this — Arapahoe Basin and Keystone got things started back in late October, with the rest of the continent slowly following. But there’s something that makes the heart happy watching the Midwest leading its own charge. It’s less about powder days and more about getting after it, no matter what’s open.

The guns are humming, the rope tows are ripping, and energy levels are climbing faster than temperatures are dropping.

If your local hill isn’t spinning yet, don’t stress — the countdown has already started.