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Densmore taking a turn on Boyne Highlands' slopes. (Boyne)

Spring is quickly approaching and that means ski trips to the mountains for many Heartland gals. Are you ready to enjoy all that skiing and riding?

Taking a ride through the glades. (Boyne Mountain)

When you ski and ride at Boyne Mountain you can’t help but think about the history that’s attached to this storied resort. They opened in 1947 with the first ski chairlift in the Midwest and followed with introducing the first three-, four- and six-seat chairlifts in the U.S. There were lots of other firsts, but the Mountain has aged well and the newer village and Mountain Grand Hotel are among the best in the Heartland. Classic straight forward wide runs plunge down the fall line, and Hemlock, their legendary advanced run and slope centerpiece, is still the “dean of Midwest steep.”

 Powder is ticking upward at Colorado's Telluride. (Twitter/Telluride)

The storm pattern will align pretty well with the Rocky Mountain range this week meaning plentiful snow. The East will stay active while warming up.

Baumgartner in the starting gate wearing his trademark houndstooth pants. (Nick Baumgartner/Facebook)

Nick Baumgartner, who lives in Iron River in the Wolverine State’s UP and calls Ski Brule his “home hill,” got word last week that he has been named to the U.S. Olympic snowboardcross team. He also competed in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

Participants can reach speeds of 30 mph on the luge run. (Muskegon Winter Sports Complex)

With the Olympics taking place next month ever thought about trying a luge run? It always looks pretty exciting during the competition.

Apply to become the official learn to ski family at Pine Knob. (Pine Knob)

January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard month all across the nation. Throughout the Midwest many ski areas are offering discounted lesson programs, but Michigan, in my opinion, offers the best programs for the cost and simplicity.

Powder, cliffs and views. (Mount Bohemia/Facebook)

Michigan's Mount Bohemia is a powder pig’s paradise. It is not your typical Midwest ski area. There’s 900 vertical feet of black diamond I, II, and III-rated glade runs, no snow making, no grooming and nothing that a typical Heartland beginner or intermediate skier or snowboarder wants to tackle. It has made it to the final four of Powder Magazine’s annual reader’s poll for best powder in North America. It’s as close to Jackson Hole as you’ll find around the Great Lakes, and they receive up to 300-inches of light lake-effect snow per season.

Devil's Head slopes overlook Wisconsin River valley. (Devil's Head)

The Michigan Snowsports Industries Association (MSIA) is offering a White Gold Card that allows you to ski or snowboard a full day at 34 Michigan ski areas, and Skiing Wisconsin is offering a coupon book allowing you a day at 16 participating Badger State ski areas. It keeps your lift ticket cost for the day to around $8.

Create family memories on a cross country ski weekend. (Fischer)

Resorts run by families are great for family winter vacations packed with something for every family member from fresh home cooked food to the atmosphere and fond memories.

Big air at Blackjack. (Blackjack)

Big Snow Resort is actually two longtime Michigan resorts, Indianhead and Blackjack, that sit almost side-by-side in the ancient Penokee Mountain Range crossing western Upper Michigan and northern Wisconsin.

A jumper soars off the Pine Mountain Ski Jump. (Pine Mountain Ski Jump/Facebook)

Ski jumping was huge around the turn of the last century across the upper Midwest. Thousands of spectators would gather at jumping competitions across Michigan’s UP and around Red Wing, Minnesota. The sport dwindled and only one site remains still holding annual jumping competitions. Two new sites, one located in the western UP and another near Red Wing, are coming onboard and hopes to be hosting competitions by 2018.

Looking across the slopes at lodge and village on top of ski hill. (Otsego/Facebook)

Michigan’s Otsego Ski Club, near Gaylord, is going fully public this season and giving up its position as the nation’s oldest continuing operating private ski club. It opened in 1939.

Looking down at the Ski Brule lodge. (Ski Brule)

Michigan's Ski Brule, a longtime Midwest family favorite, offers a variety of terrain – slopes, terrain parks, terrain trails and half pipes – that flow off a 500-foot ridge. As Heartland skiers and riders have learned in past years, a Brule season pass can be a wise investment. You can count on plenty of time to use it. They hold the record for the longest Midwest season staying open 182 days during the 2005-06 season.  The area normally opens in early November and stays open well into April.

Slush cups are part of spring fun in Michigan. (Shanty Creek)

Despite a record warm February across the Great Lakes that saw some ski areas across southern Michigan, Indiana and Ohio call it a season all ready, slopes in northern Michigan are still well covered. March’s longer, warmer days bring out the fun side of northern Michigan’s ski resorts.

Kid’s Festival Weekend takes place at Boyne Mountain, March 10-12, with all kinds of events planned for kids of every age. At Boyne Highlands the eighth annual Brew-Ski Festival happens March 10-11. Lodging packages are available for both events.

The weekend of March 17-19 Krazy Daze happens at the Highlands and Carnival Weekend takes place at the Mountain.   

Krazy Daze events include slaloms, jump the pond competition, tailgate parties, face painting, and costume judging. On Saturday there are GS races, a Silly Slalom, and, of course, a pond skimming event. 

Carnival Weekend brings out the beads, bands, and costume competitions.  Check out the on-hill party at Victor Warming House on Saturday. There’s outside cookouts on the Stein Eriksen Patio and live music. The spectator friendly Slush Cup takes place on Sunday. Carnival weekend packages start from $160 per person, per night.

Nubs Nob hosts Mardi Gras March 18. A family oriented event with fun and games for all; the Soaker Cup, Costume contest, Crazy Couples,  races and the Petoskey Steel Drum Band on the deck.

Crystal Mountain is celebrating sun and snow with March on the Mountain. The Spring Carnival, which includes the, cardboard classic and slush cup, takes place March 10-11. The following weekend, March 17-18, is Celts and Kayaks featuring an on slope downhill kayak race, another slush cup and Celtic dancing. Retro Weekend takes place March 24-25 with a mountain run, bike races and a free slopeside concert. Friday, March 10, is 6-for-$60. Grab six friends and head for Crystal. You can’t beat an all-mountain $10 lift ticket.

The resort is offering 25-percent off peak season lodging rates throughout the month of March in limited quantities.

Shanty Creek is hosting their Cardboard Classic March 11 and Blarney Stone Rail Jam March 18. Lift and lodging packages start from $97 per person, per night, and include breakfast. Children eight and under always sleep and ski free when staying with parents.

It’s that time of year to get out and enjoy the slopes before the season ends, and have some fun along the way.  

Families feel at home on the Summit's slopes. (Shanty Creek)

Michigan's Shanty Creek offers a little taste of Europe, where they are used to skiing from village to village. Spanning 4,500 acres and offering three distinct villages--The Summit, Cedar Creek and Schuss Mountain— you can cross country ski between and all offer access to the slopes.

The iconic vine covered Boyne Highlands hotel with the ski hill rising behind it. (Boyne Highlands)

A fire significantly damaged the Boyne Highlands hotel early Sunday morning, Dec. 11, with at least 12 people being transported to area hospitals, according to a story published by the Petoskey News Review.

A family is ready to hit the slopes for a day. (Boyne Highlands)

Pull up to the main lodge at Boyne Highlands and the classic three-story hotel with its vine-covered alpine motif and ski hill rising behind the roofline is arguably one of the most iconic views among Heartland ski resorts. Rising over 550 feet, the largest vertical in Lower Michigan, the ski hill offers 55 runs up to a mile long and eight lifts, including a high-speed quad. There are four terrain parks, a 13-foot halfpipe, and numerous glades scattered across the ridge.   

Afton Alps will host a Thanksgiving race camp. (Scott Melander)

The first Heartland ski area opened this past weekend, and just in time if you are looking for a Thanksgiving race camp in the Midwest. Four are scheduled across the upper Heartland; two in Minnesota, one each in upper Michigan and Wisconsin.

Minnesota’s Wild Mountain opened for the season this past weekend, and is hosting a Thanksgiving Race Camp Nov. 25-27, daily 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost for the three-day camp is $150. The racing program is an alliance between Three Rivers Racing - TR2 and Wild to cultivate, promote and develop world class alpine ski racers from the surrounding area. This coming weekend is demo days. Wild has been the first Midwest ski area to open in the Heartland over the last decade.

Nearby Afton Alps is also hosting its race training camp Nov. 25-27, daily 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost is $85 three days and $40 for a single day. The camp, open to ages 7-21, includes slalom and giant slalom training with free ski skill development under the guidance of experienced coaches. Registration deadline is Friday Nov. 18.

Ski Brule, located in Michigan’s UP, plans to open for the season Nov. 18. They are hosting their 26th Thanksgiving Race Camp Nov. 24-27.  Fees are $60 per day or $220 all four days. Regarded as one of the top camps in the Heartland, they have always been able to provide lift served trails for training. It’s geared towards age and ability and provides small group training. Thanksgiving dinner will be available in the lodge. Lodging packages are available over the holidays. Stay four nights and Wednesday night is half-off. In all those years Brule has never had to call off a Thanksgiving camp.

Wisconsin’s Trollhaugen is hosting a Thanksgiving Race Camp Nov. 25-27, running daily 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Training includes small groups, slalom and giant slalom skiing and racing techniques and video. Cost for 13 years and older is $110 one day, $145 two days, and $170 all three days. For those 12 and younger the respective cost $105, $135 and $160. Fees include lift tickets, lunch, a camp T-shirt, five hours daily training, and swag.

The Wisconsin and Minnesota areas are within an hour’s drive of the Twin Cities. 

Bob Frye with his Hall of Fame plaque. (Michigan Ski Hall of Fame)

Bob Frye, founder of Cross Country Ski Headquarters in Higgins Lake, Mich. has been inducted by the board of the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association to the Michigan Ski Hall of Fame. He entered the Hall of Fame as a "Snow Sports Builder," someone who has made major contributions in areas of organization, promotion, or development of the skiing industry in Michigan.

Says Frye, "We started with a simple mission, and that mission lives on today: get people outside and having fun on the snow. I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in that mission, and especially my wife, Lynne, for her tremendous support, and without whom none of this would have been possible."

Since starting Cross Country Ski Headquarters in 1974, Bob and Lynne, and later their daughter and son-in-law, Mariah and Stu Colie, have grown the business to achieve national recognition, not to mention a large statewide following. Named by Outside Magazine as a "Nordic Skiing Mecca," Cross Country Ski Headquarters has become one of the most distinguished cross country ski destinations in the country for its groomed trails, large retail selection and expertise, and warm, welcoming staff.

"Bob and his shop and ski area have attracted more people to the sport of cross country skiing than any other entity in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They have always been a beacon to those wanting to begin an adventure into snow sports and cross country skiing in particular," said Ernie Brumbaugh, President, Michigan Cup Race Committee.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters is located in Higgins Lake, in the heart of Michigan. It is open from October 29th through March 31st, and also for its annual Labor Day Weekend Sale. Featuring a vast ski equipment and clothing selection, product expertise, groomed ski trails, a café and day lodge, ski rentals and lessons, Cross Country Ski Headquarters and Bob Frye invites one and all to "Come ski with us!"

Sugar Loaf overlooks Leelanau County. (Facebook)

Michigan’s Sugar Loaf Resort has once again generated a new potential buyer. Jeff Katofsky, a California attorney and real estate developer, is reportedly buying the long shuttered resort and hopes to reopen it as a four-season, high-end resort, according to articles in both the Traverse City Record Eagle and the Detroit Free Press.

The plans for refurbishing the tired, old resort that has been shuttered since 2000 are somewhat vague.

“We’re buying it, and plan to redevelop it as a year-round resort,” he told both newspapers. Katofsky declined to disclose the purchase price or give specifics on how much he planned to invest in the resort. Initially he told them that he hopes to have the resort reopened in three to four years, but added, “It’s going to take some time, a lot of time.”

When pressed further on his plans for the once thriving ski resort he replied, “I’m going to keep that to myself for now.”

Winter travel in Michigan — with 2 million to 2.4 million ski visits annually — is a $4.9-billion business, according to the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association. It's a vibrant part of the state's economy — Michigan has the nation's second most ski resorts, second only to New York.

There are a number of areas of code violation, according to Leelanau County, to bring the shuttered property into compliance. The lengthy list included both outside and inside damage that needs to be corrected; roofs, decks, structural damage to buildings, chair lifts and pools were among areas mentioned.

Other buyers have looked at the resort, but no legitimate offers have come forth in the 16 years since it closed. The reported asking price is $8.7 million.

“The location is great and it’s beautiful overlooking Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands,” says Mickey MacWilliams, executive director of the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association. “We’d all love to see Sugar Loaf come back because it was a really special place.”

In the 1980s and early 1990s it was considered one of Michigan’s top ski areas.