A Tale of Two Ski Hills

Most UMD students have probably heard of Spirit Mountain on the west side of Duluth. Fewer would recognize the name Mont du Lac. All the same, there are two ski hills in our area. Mont du Lac is just a bit further out of town (follow Grand Ave./Hwy. 23 as it leaves Duluth and the ski area is on the left after crossing the St. Louis River bridge) and substantially smaller (310 vertical feet, as compared to Spirit’s 700).

But Mont du Lac is where I chose to spend last Saturday night telemark skiing. If you’re unfamiliar, tele-skiing involves going down the hill in a series of turns with a deep bend in your knees. The skis themselves have free heels, similar to cross-country skis. The only other telemark skier on the hill Saturday was ski patrol staff Alan Nielson. He chooses to ski on telemark skis for the added challenge. From my experiences learning to telemark ski, I can certainly confirm: it’s hard.

It isn’t unusual to find only one other tele skier on the hill though; frequently there are none. This is indicative of Mont du Lac overall: the night I went, there were probably 30 other total skiers there. Lines at the lift are rare to nonexistent. There’s always an open spot at the bar.

Mont du Lac owners Larry and Donna Pulkrabek have extensive plans to make the hill more enticing and get more people in the door. They’re planning to build a second lift, continue extensive remodeling of their chalet and rental facility, and build a hilltop chalet, complete with a new bar and vacation suites. I spoke with general manager Mike Cameron and disc golf and mountain bike coordinator Bryan Lagergren about all these plans.

It might seem strange for a ski hill to have someone in charge of summer sports, but it’s part of their all-season approach to recreation. They’re currently selling an Adventure Pass that offers purchasers year-round access to the hill and all its activities. They’re hoping that a reasonable rate on this pass for students and their new Thursday College Nights (with 2-for-1 lift tickets) will encourage a larger contingent of young adults to visit the hill.

I like Mont du Lac. It’s small and low-key. The beer’s cheap and the guys running the lift are usually friendly, if not somewhat disinterested.

To get a well-rounded picture of the Duluth ski scene, I made a pilgrimage to Spirit Mountain on Sunday morning for a Learn-to-Ski-Free lesson. The contrast was striking: there were as many people on Spirit’s bunny hill learning to ski and snowboard as there were at all of Mont du Lac the night before.

I got a great re-introduction to alpine skis from Zach Salstrand, a senior at Hermantown High School and one of Spirit’s horde of instructional staff. Zach helped our group through basic snowplows, getting up the ‘magic carpet’ to the top of the bunny hill, and executing turns and getting skis parallel in a controlled fashion. The weather was beautiful, I didn’t get hit by any of the pre-schoolers on snowboards, and I enjoyed a walk around the top of the hill and hot chocolate with my friend Maggie after the short 1 1/2 hour lesson. It was a good time.

Spirit’s also pushing heavily to get college students on skis and snowboards. They’re offering discounts on lift tickets and drink specials as part of their Friday College Nights, as many UMD students have already discovered. I hope to check it out soon.

Many students probably won’t make it past Spirit for skiing, but I’d encourage a trip to Mont du Lac. It’s cheaper, family-run, and much more relaxed. I’m glad I was able to pay a visit to both.