Member News & Updates
January 27, 2025
Skiing Wisconsin
Skiing Wisconsin was presented with a JEM Grant check (Celebratory, as real money comes later). Last week David Spiegleberg from the Department of Tourism presented the $24,176 check at Grand Geneva Ski Area to Jessica Gotschow, Marketing Manager at Grand Geneva.
We are in the midst of our 2025 JEM Grant First Tracks Fridays campaign partnering with Travel Wisconsin.
“Skiing Wisconsin has had a long partnership with Travel Wisconsin for many years and has received well over $150,000 in JEM Grant funds for campaigns like First Tracks Fridays, Skiing Wisconsin’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Weeks, Ignite the Passion and more. We appreciate our partnerships with Tourism” said Jim Engle, Executive Director, Skiing Wisconsin
January 27, 2025
Chester Bowl
When shopping for candy bars, “Family Sized” is a term that means that the candy bar is probably bigger than you need. But at Chester Bowl, “Family Sized” means a place, and a community, that is just the right size for children and families to grow into the sports of skiing and snowboarding. There is no other
alpine operation in the country quite like Chester Bowl; read on to find out more about this magical hill nestled right in the middle of Duluth, Minnesota.
Unique operational model
When the Chester Park Alpine Area opened in 1972 in the City owned Chester Park, programming was run by the City of Duluth. The Chester Bowl Improvement Club (Chester Bowl), a non-profit, ran the concessions stand to raise money and support the park, much like a PTA supports a school. During the
recession of 2009, the City needed to cut all parks programming. Chester Bowl’s Alpine Program could easily have gone away, likely forever, but the non-profit stepped up to run the hill and keep people on the slopes. This arrangement continues to this day, with Chester Bowl operating programming in the City Park through a management agreement and with City support. By working closely together, the City and Chester Bowl are able to do much more together than either could individually. The winter and summer programs have both doubled in size since 2009! All of this is accomplished with a lean staffing model, including three full time year round management staff; seasonal lifties, instructors, and snowmakers; and parent volunteers contributing a total of 5,500 hours of their time each winter helping run the concessions stand and special events.
Affordable to anyone
Chester Bowl exists to keep skiing and snowboarding as an affordable option to anyone, regardless of income. Between the management agreement with the City of Duluth and their in-kind contributions (such as grooming the hill daily) and Chester Bowl’s non-profit status allowing them to receive significant grant support, prices can be set at levels that are affordable by most families. Season passes are $85/person, season rentals are $95/person, and day passes are just $10/kids and $15/adults! Knowing that those prices are still out of reach for many low-income families, Chester Bowl awarded $27,300 in scholarship support this winter. Scholarships are funded through money raised at special events and through grant support.
Season rental model
For the 1,200+ people who get season rentals at Chester Bowl each winter, it means something a little different than at most Alpine areas. They get fitted for their skis and snowboards in November, and take them home with them. They then return the gear in April. For the time in between, they use that equipment at Chester Bowl and any other area that they go to, from nearby Spirit Mountain to the mountains of Colorado. This helps keep the sport affordable even as families explore other areas, including while using the free visits or reduced priced passes at our seven regional partner areas. It also eliminates the need to staff a rental area while the hill is open, as Chester does not have daily equipment rentals.
Family Sized
Chester Bowl can be called “cozy”. With one lift, five runs, and a terrain park, skiers and boarders are not going to get lost. But that cozy familiarity also means that the lifties know all the kids names, ski patrollers are never far out of sight, kids can build up their sense of independence in a safe place, and
people are always watching out for each other. Chester Bowl is the kind of place where a parent will pull up, a car full of 10 year olds will practically fall out of the car in their rush to get on the hill, and the parent will come back to pick them up four hours later, knowing the kids were in a safe and child- friendly environment while they were off grocery shopping or napping.
Peace In the Park
That child friendly environment is a direct result of the “Peace in the Park” philosophy at Chester Bowl. Peace in the Park governs how people interact with each other, and how conflicts are resolved. Each season pass holder signs a Peace in the Parks pledge when they register, and staff can refer back to that
pledge if they need to re-direct the behavior of a participant.
Cadets
Tomorrow’s leaders are here today. Chester Bowl’s Cadets are youth volunteers in 7th through 10th grade. They are in that in-between age, where they are ready for more responsibility and leadership roles, but not yet ready for a paid job. These teens are also often idolized by the younger participants. Cadets volunteer at Chester by helping with lessons, by being chairlift buddies, by serving as positive role models upholding Peace in the Park, and by supporting terrain park staff as they prepare the elements for use. Cadets are recognizable in their green jackets (with their names embroidered on them) and are rewarded for their time with free food from concessions. These Cadets often later become paid staff in the program, with this leadership pipeline helping Chester Bowl avoid staffing shortages.
Girls Shred
Chester Bowl’s programs have always seen equal number of male and female participants- except in the Terrain Park. To combat this, they started Girls Shred. Led by college and older high school women, Girls Shred creates a community of girls in the terrain park learning together and supporting each other. This
season has seen nearly 50 girls participate in the first five Girls Shred events!
Growing Up Chester
Chester Bowl’s programs are based out of the Chalet. While decades of memories have been made there, the Chalet is not big enough to support the growing programming, is not ADA accessible, is extremely energy inefficient, and is quickly falling into disrepair. Chester Bowl, along with the City of Duluth, has been raising the funds to expand and fully renovate the Chalet through the “Growing Up Chester” capital campaign, ensuring that this resource is there for the next generations of skiers and snowboarders. The project is 88% funded, with $3,400,000 of the $3,850,000 estimated price tag raised. They are looking to wrap up fundraising and finalize design work by summer 2025, bid the project out in late 2025, and complete the renovations in 2026 or 2027. You can find out more about the project and support Chester Bowl’s vision for an expanded Chalet at https://growingupchester.org
Programs in all seasons
You can come to Chester Park in all seasons, and something exciting is happening! Chester Bowl runs a summer day camp, serving 125 elementary and middle school aged kids daily for 10 weeks of summer programming. Their promise to parents is to return their children “tired, happy, and dirty”. On the third
Saturday of September, “Fall Fest” hosts 130+ craft vendors, 12 food trucks, and a trio of live music acts while welcoming up to 11,000 people in to this one day event! Finally, Chester Bowl works with the City of Duluth to host the Music In The Park concert series, with five free Tuesday night summer concerts,
with an average attendance of 450. The park also has over five miles of hiking, running, Nordic skiing, and bike optimized trails, a soccer and softball field, and a playground.
Put it all together, and Chester Bowl creates a community where everyone is welcomed, where programs are affordable to anyone, and where people love to spend time outside in Chester Park in all seasons.
https://www.chesterbowl.org
https://growingupchester.org
