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Female skiers and snowboarders will soon take center stage at three Minnesota resorts. The clinics will get you on course for the rest of the season, and one clinic will host a wine and cheese afterwards.

Midwest ski areas are getting an early jump on the spring carnival season with family events, cardboard sled races, pond skims, family events and live music. It’s never too early to have some fun on the slopes.

Fat tire snow biking, popular at western and eastern ski resorts, has been gaining traction in the Midwest recently. Several ski resorts in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula and northern Minnesota are now offering rentals and trails to ride. 

Terry Peak, South Dakota, opened in 1936, and celebrates 80 years this year. It opened the same year as Sun Valley in the west and Bromley Mountain in the east, both credited with kicking off the North American ski resort industry. Terry Peak, with a 1,100-foot vertical drop, largest in the Heartland, offers true mountain skiing. Located in the Black Hills, it tops out near 7,000 feet.  

Three lower Midwest ski areas have some fun events coming up later this month. Clinics, family festivals and the Heartland’s first winter carnival take place in February.

It may be something you thought you would never hear about in the Midwest, but Mount Bohemia, in Michigan's UP, has opened Voodoo Mountain for cat skiing. It's the first commercial cat skiing area east of the Rockies.

It’s one of the more unusual ski weekends in the Midwest. Pine Mountain, Michigan’s UP, hosts an FIS sanctioned Continental Cup jumping event Feb. 20-21, which is often dubbed the “Midwest’s biggest winter tailgate party.”

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner and coming on a weekend, here are some of my favorite Heartland spots to combine snow sports and romance. Enjoy.

Several Midwest ski resorts are adding a little zip to their attractions, literally. Zip Lines have become a big addition at ski resorts across the country, especially in the western mountains and New England.

I’ve been skiing at Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands in Michigan since the mid-1970s and watched them grow over the plast 40 years. Both have added more terrain, trails and terrain parks and lots of non-ski related activities.

Vail Resorts has added Wilmot Mountain, along the Wisconsin border between Chicago and Milwaukee, to its stable of recent Midwest urban ski area acquisitions; Afton Alps, near the Twin Cities, and Mt. Brighton, near Detroit.

The Big Sky eighth annual Big Grass Concert, Feb 4-7, includes some of the top blue grass acts in the country; The Sam Bush Band, David Grishman Bluegrass Experience, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Travelin’ McCoury's, Keller Williams, Drew Emmitt Band, Billy Strings and Don Julian, Two Bit Franks, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, The Good Time Travelers, and more. A weekend concert pass is $185, which gets you into all shows.  Single show tickets are $35 each early bird and $50 at the door. Plan ahead.

Check out Gaylord, Mich. if you like cross country skiing laced with nice amenities, good downhill choices, and an appealing village dressed for winter.

Ever wanted to try a luge run, which always looks pretty exciting in the Olympics?

Lower Midwest ski areas in Indiana and Missouri attract Dixie State snowsports enthusiasts from Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

Stein Eriksen, beyond his international persona and all his accomplishments, also had an impact on Midwest skiing even though he was here just three years.

Ohio’s ill-fated Clear Fork Ski Resort, which first opened in 1962, has had a run of bad luck in recent years.

How would you like to get a free lift ticket every time you fill your vehicles gas tank?

The Heartland’s largest ski resort, Lutsen Mountains will host a week of music, parties and activities for college students Jan. 3-10. It’s College Week and a new Lake Effect Music Fest.

It may be a slow start to the Midwest ski season, but things are supposed to improve by the holidays and several Heartland resorts have plans to celebrate the season. Let’s all ask Santa to bring the snow.