Buck Hill is a ski hill in the north central

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, located in

Burnsville, Minnesota Burnsville ( ) is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota. The city is situated on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. Burnsville and nea ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

south of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. It is one of three

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

ski areas in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

metropolitan area, along with Afton Alps and Hyland. Buck Hill opened in 1954 and offers

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

, and tubing trails.

Artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

is often used to maintain the slopes, because while Minnesota's winters are cold, the average annual

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

is low for a ski area: less than . Buck Hill faces east and overlooks adjacent

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, approximately south of

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Minneapolis. Owned by David and Corrine "Chip" Solner, the ski area is lighted for

night skiing Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski areas. There are floodlights – with metal halide, LED or magnetic induction lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. The night ski ...

and operates three

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s (2 quads, 1 triple) and multiple surface tows
trail map
. The base area consists of a parking lot and a short strip of lodges. The ski runs use the east face of the hill, with the other sides occupied by residential housing; a municipal

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

shares the summit, and the vertical drop is .

History

Buck Hill was named by early settlers, who noticed its summit was a gathering spot for

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

to watch male

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

(bucks) drink at Crystal Lake. The ski area was started by Chuck Stone, who discovered the sport as a child recovering from

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, and had worked as a lift attendant at

Suicide Six Saskadena Six (formerly Suicide Six) is a ski resort in South Pomfret, Vermont. Its claim to historical fame as the earliest ski resort derives from the installation, in January 1934, of an improvised rope tow, the first in the United States, ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Returning to Minneapolis, he wanted to start a ski area, and went to the public library to search out viable topography. The present ski area of Buck Hill was the tallest hill close to the Twin Cities, but was on private land, part of a remote farm owned by Grace Whittier. Stone and his girlfriend Nancy convinced Whittier to lease them the property, succeeding where previous wooers had failed, and the ski area began operating in 1954. Whittier left the property to

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

, in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

, upon her death.

World Cup racers

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

ski racers Kristina Koznick and

Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. She won four World Cup overall championships – third amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mika ...

learned to ski and race at Buck Hill. Koznick, now retired from international competition, was a top slalom racer. Vonn (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kildow) races in all five disciplines and is dominant in the speed events. She is among the best female ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles (

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) and was the gold medalist in the downhill at the

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. She was also a double gold medalist in the speed events at the 2009 World Championships, taking the downhill and

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

. Vonn has 82 World Cup victories, the second most for female ski racer in the sport's history. Both were coached by Erich Sailer, an energetic octogenarian from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

who has been Buck Hill's racing coach since 1969. Sailer was inducted into the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a ...

in 2006.

Paula Moltzan Paula Moltzan (born April 7, 1994) is an American World Cup alpine ski racer and specializes in slalom and giant slalom. Biography Born to Robyn and Mark Moltzan and from Minnesota, Moltzan began racing at Buck Hill, south of Minneapolis. She ...

also began ski racing at Buck Hill.

Pro racing

The ski area hosted the pro skiing tour in early February 1973 as part of the

Saint Paul Winter Carnival The Saint Paul Winter Carnival is an annual festival in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. History In 1885, a New York reporter wrote that Saint Paul was, "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation" in winter. Offended by this attack on th ...

. It was raced in a head-to-head parallel format in elimination brackets for both giant slalom and slalom. Two-time defending season champion

Spider Sabich Vladimir Peter Sabich Jr. (January 10, 1945 – March 21, 1976) was an American alpine ski racer, a member of the U.S. Ski Team on the World Cup circuit in the late 1960s. He competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics and was the pro ski racing cham ...

won the slalom on Sunday at the

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Cup at Buck Hill. That year's season champion, Olympic triple gold medalist

Jean-Claude Killy Jean-Claude Killy (born 30 August 1943) is a French former World Cup alpine ski racer. He dominated the sport in the late 1960s, and was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most su ...

, won the Saturday giant slalom and was the fastest qualifier in the slalom, but did not place. Killy and Sabich earned $2,500 each for their wins. Hugo Nindl of Austria won both pro events at Buck Hill in January 1974. He bested Sabich in the slalom final, and went on to win the season title.

Winter activities

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

Night skiing Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski areas. There are floodlights – with metal halide, LED or magnetic induction lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. The night ski ...

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

* Tubing

In popular culture

Minneapolis band The Replacements wrote a song called "Buck Hill", with lyrics consisting entirely of the words "Buck Hill" shouted repeatedly.

References

External links

* * - staff
Buck Hill Ski Patrol.org
{{Minnesota Tourist attractions in Dakota County, Minnesota Ski areas and resorts in Minnesota Landforms of Dakota County, Minnesota Burnsville, Minnesota