Lutsen Mountains
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Lutsen Mountains is a
ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...
in the north central
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
; an
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) ...
area located on the North Shore region of
Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...
in northeastern
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. It is home to 95 runs across 4 mountains, with a maximum vertical drop of 773 feet. Average snowfall accumulation is around 10 feet each season. During the summer, the area serves as a hiking destination and getaway resort with nearby access to the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) comprises of pristine forests, glacial lakes, and streams in the Superior National Forest. Located entirely within the U.S. state of Minnesota at the Boundary Waters, the wilderness are ...
(BWCAW) and
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
.


Location

Lutsen is one of the northernmost ski areas in the contiguous United States. It is located in the Sawtooth Mountains, which are hills that are part of the Superior Highlands on the north shore of
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
. Lutsen receives natural snow, at times
lake effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises through colde ...
from the lake at its foot, and also has snowmaking equipment. Lutsen Mountains Resort is the largest ski resort in the Midwest, also having the 3rd most vertical drop in the Midwest behind
Terry Peak per yr --> , snowmaking = , nightskiing = , external_linkterrypeak.com } Terry Peak is a mountain and ski area in the west central United States, in the Black Hills of South Dakota outside of Lead. With an elevation of above sea level, it ...
and Mount Bohemia. The ski season extends from November into mid-April, longer than most other resorts in the
Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...
.


Ski runs and terrain

The ski area consists of four hills, named Eagle, Ullr, Mystery, and Moose Mountains. The ski resort's "Eagle Mountain" should not be confused with Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota, which is actually in the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) comprises of pristine forests, glacial lakes, and streams in the Superior National Forest. Located entirely within the U.S. state of Minnesota at the Boundary Waters, the Wilderness, wi ...
. The base sits at the feet of Eagle and Ullr Mountains.


Eagle Mountain

Eagle Mountain consists of 21 primary runs (in which two have terrain parks), 4 side-country runs, and two chairlifts. It is typically open from 9:00 am–4:00 pm during the season. The run difficulty breakdown is 3 double black diamonds, 10 black diamonds, 9 blue, and 3 green. The base and gondola (to Moose Mountain) are easily accessible from multiple runs. Two junior race courses, 1 mogul, and 2 terrain park runs sit on the mountain.


Ullr Mountain

Ullr Mountain consists of 8 short runs (7 primary and 1 side-country), one chairlift, and one surface lift. The run difficulty breakdown is 5 blue, and 3 green. The base and gondola are accessible from all runs.


Mystery Mountain

Mystery Mountain is accessible from the bottom of Eagle and Mystery Mountains. There is one chairlift that provides access to 10 runs (2 primary and 8 side-country), one of which consists of a terrain park featuring banked turns, jumps and rollers. The run difficulty breakdown is 2 black diamond and 8 blue.


Moose Mountain

Moose Mountain is the largest of the four mountains and provides views of Lake Superior from the Southeast facing slope. It features 52 runs, including 9 double black diamond, 13 black diamond, and 30 blue, 1 terrain park, and 1 mogul run. The mountain can be accessed from the resort base via Gondola or the Moose Access run from Eagle Mountain. Two chair lifts (including one six-person lift) can be found at the bases of the two east-facing slopes. The Summit Chalet can be found at the top of the mountain right off of the Gondola. Three double black diamond runs drop off of the Northwest slope.


History and future plans

In 1989, Lutsen Mountains installed a German-made PHB Hall
gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...
to connect the base area and Moose Mountain. The gondola was the first gondola in a mid-American ski resort. Lutsen Mountains has a reputation for being family-friendly, as it was named as a Top 20 Family Ski Resort two years in a row among other accolades. Lutsen Mountains hosts two resorts, Caribou Highlands and Eagle Ridge, which offer a wide variety of rooms, condos, and townhomes. Many of them feature ski-in/ski-out access to the mountains. In May 2013, it was announced that Lutsen Mountains would install a six-place high speed detachable lift on Moose Mountain, the Caribou Express, to replace the Caribou double chair. In summer 2014, Lutsen Mountains installed a new $5 million pipeline to carry water for snowmaking from Lake Superior to the resort's pumping facility. Prior to the new pipeline, Lutsen Mountains faced criticism for using a waiver to pump water from the Poplar River, a designated trout stream, as this practice had been illegal since 1977 in Minnesota. In January 2022, Charles Skinner became the sole owner of Lutsen Mountains, purchasing co-president and brother-in-law Tom Rider's 50% ownership interest. On May 25, 2022, Lutsen announced that they would be replacing the Bridge chair with a Leither Poma six person lift for the 2023/24 ski season.


2017 expansion plan

Citing the need to compete with ski resorts out West, Lutsen Mountains began considering expansion as early as 2014, when it began drafting a development plan and meeting with tribal leaders. In December 2014, it was announced that Lutsen would begin its expansion and modernization efforts by purchasing and installing a $7 million Doppelmayr 8-passenger high-speed gondola to bring skiers between Eagle and Moose Mountains, replacing the current PHB Hall Skycruiser model, which was installed as a used lift in the late 1980s. The upgraded gondola opened in 2015. In 2017, Lutsen Mountains applied for a Special Use Permit from the
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...
outlining proposed development of 495 acres of the
Superior National Forest The Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state, state of Minnesota between the Canada–United States border and the North Shore (Lake Superior), north shore o ...
. The plan included two new base facilities, seven chairlifts, two new snowmaking reservoirs, and more; much of this development would occur on the south face of Moose Mountain. The announcement garnered immediate attention, given a request to expand a ski resort on public land is unusual in the Midwest. Lutsen Mountains was also the largest Midwestern ski resort at the time of announcement. The proposal drew 560 public comments by December 2021, with local tourism boosters and businesses in favor, while environmental advocates and tribal groups with treaty rights to the land opposed the plan. When the Cook County Chamber of Commerce came out in support of expansion, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sent a letter to the board criticizing dismissal of the historic use of the land by the
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
people. Superior Highland Backcountry, a
backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine s ...
organization, offered a low-impact alternative supported by tribal leaders: a hut-to-hut trail system abiding by current public land practices.


U.S. Ski Team

Cindy Nelson Cynthia Lee Nelson (born August 19, 1955) is former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. Racing career Born and raised in Lutsen in northeastern Minnesota, Nelson's family ran the local ski area and she was on skis before the ...
(b. 1955), of the family that owned the ski resort, was the silver medalist at the 1982
Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. It consisted of Downhill (ski competition), ...
and bronze medalist in
Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics Alpine Skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events. Similar to the 1964 games, the men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel (above Igls), the other five events at Axamer Lizum. The events began on 5 February and ...
.


References

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External links


Lutsen Mountain website


Buildings and structures in Cook County, Minnesota Ski areas and resorts in Minnesota Tourist attractions in Cook County, Minnesota