FRANKLIN, Wis. — With southeastern Wisconsin seeing snowfall for three consecutive days and more on the way, it really helps businesses like the Rock Snow Park in Franklin.
Gary Debbink of Burlington took his grandkids tubing on Friday afternoon.
“I got four runs in already, but it’s something you don’t know if you are going until you get out there,” Debbink said. “But once you get out there, it becomes a whole lot of fun.”
Debbink said the recent snowfall in southeastern Wisconsin was part of the reason he decided to come out to the Rock Snow Park.
“The snow is kind of an enhancement,” he said. “It puts you more in the mood. We didn’t have any at Christmas and now we got it now.”
Riley May is the general manager of Rock Snow Park.
He said for their business, it doesn’t matter how much it snows because they have the equipment to produce enough snow to run the park. But, he said it works only as long as temperatures are cold enough.
May said when Mother Nature brings the snow, it brings more people out. He said they have already sold out on tubing for the weekend as the area expects to see 4 to 6 inches of snow on Saturday.
“When people get snow in their backyards, then all of a sudden, a lightbulb goes off and says, ‘Oh, let’s go tubing, skiing or snowboarding,’ but you know we’ve been open since Black Friday with our own snowmaking,” May said. “It’s awesome. It gives our operations crew a little breather where we don’t have to rely on our own snowmaking system and Mother Nature can give us 4-5 inches. It makes the conditions great. It’s really pretty and beautiful out here with some natural snow, so we are excited.”
Now, Debbink is ready for another round of tubing. As he went down the hill, Debbink said he’s glad he gets to have this experience with his grandkids.
“You never know if you are going to be going really fast or really slow, depending on what the snow is like and that can change real rapidly, so once you start out slow and all of a sudden it speeds up. It’s pretty exhilarating,” said Debbink.