MT. HOREB, Wis. — The ski and snowboard season has officially started at Tyrol Basin.
On Saturday, Tyrol Basin opened to the public with two trails and a small terrain park. Some people woke up early to get first chair on the lifts.
“This is the biggest opening that I can remember ever where they have had more than just one run at a time open,” said local ski legend Paul Underwood.
Underwood said Tyrol is usually one of the first Midwest resorts to open and while they weren’t the first to open, they managed to get their lifts running Saturday.
“They upgraded the pumps a year or two back and they got a lot of new snow guns,” said Underwood. “They are just ready to pull the plug when it gets cold.”
Underwood has skied all across the U.S. and still finds himself coming back to Tyrol.
“Tyrol is a small town,” said Underwood. “Most everybody knows everybody.”
He also enjoys the thrill of the slopes.
“It is more hardcore, I would say, than a lot of the other ski areas around here are,” Underwood said. “They let you ski through trees and down steep stuff, there’s a drop in the woods that’s about 15 to 20 feet.”
Underwood noted he wasn’t sure if anyone ever dropped that 20 foot cliff, but he knows it’s there and the idea of hitting it seemed to be enough to satisfy his thirst for adrenaline.
“There’s stuff here that I thought nobody would ever ski and now there’s young people skiing it,” said Underwood. “I always loved skiing the impossible stuff myself, but as I have gotten older, I am having as much fun watching the young kids ski it.”
Preseason hours vary at Tyrol Basin and for updates on trail and snow conditions, as well as hours of operation, click this link. The regular season starts on Dec. 21 and 22, and Tyrol Basin will stop selling season passes on Nov. 30.
Wisconsin is home to several ski resorts. For more information, click here.