Lack of snowmaking delays opening of tubing at Mt. Zion

By CHARITY SMITH

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Ironwood — People wanting to tube down Mt. Zion will have to wait at least 10 more days, according to Jim Vanderspoel, director of Mt. Zion operations at Gogebic Community College. The delay is due to a broken pump for the snowmaking machines.

“The terrain park and the tubing park are not open, because I need to make a lot of snow to get those open and I have no capability of making snow at the moment,” Vanderspoel said. “I need to make a lot of snow in the tubing park to make that area safe. I need to make a lot of snow to build that berm and everything else and mother nature hasn’t been cooperating and I can’t make snow at the moment.”

The $18,000 part, is a control for the pump system which sends water from the nearby pond to snow-making machines on the hill. Vanderspoel said it was ordered from Italy in early December. He said it shipped out immediately and cleared customs in New York, but for some reason was detained in Chicago for about 10 days.

He said the part cleared customs on Monday morning, and should be arriving within the next couple of days. Once the part arrives he said it will take him about half a day to set up and then he will start making snow for the ski hill first and then move to the tubing and terrain areas. He said that process should take about 10 days.

The college has two ponds that can hold about 7 million gallons of water combined, according to Vanderspoel.

“I usually use 5 million gallons just to open the ski hill and we’ve made nothing yet this year because of all this,” he said.

He said that the college is looking at spending an additional $55,000 on snow-making equipment upgrades this summer. Vanderspoel said they have more than $1 million invested in snow-making at Mt. Zion.

“People don’t realize how much we have invested in snow-making,” he said.

Vanderspoel said mother nature cooperated just enough to open the ski hill.

“It could be better,” he said. “It normally is much better.”