ANDALUSIA, Illinois – Doug Harper said the “prime season” is just days away for skiing, sledding and other winter fun at Snowstar in rural Andalusia.
“We’re really excited about this weekend. … It’s going to be prime season for skiing with the temperatures back in the 20s,” said Mr. Harper, a local businessman and owner of Snowstar. “We’ve been having 50 to 75 calls a day asking us ‘When is skiing starting?'”
Even though he’s excited about the return of Snowstar this season, the business owner said it has been a challenging and frustrating few weeks. For instance, Snowstar had hoped to be open for winter activities before Christmas, but the weather was too warm to snow or to operate the snow-making equipment.
The ski slopes did open briefly on Saturday, Jan. 13, but closed again from Sunday through Tuesday because of the bitter cold weather. “Due to the safety of our valued guests and staff being our #1 priority in this extreme cold, we are going to close for skiing, boarding and tubing through Tuesday,” Snowstar had posted on its Facebook page.
Snowstar now is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Jan. 17, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. See Snowstar’s Facebook page for the latest updates on opening times.
The weather has been so cold in the past few days that Snowstar’s snow-making machines, or snow guns, have been unable to operate because they freeze up in this sub-zero weather, Mr. Harper told the QCBJ in a telephone interview on Jan. 16.
“It’s been a challenging season. … Two weeks ago, it was 50 degrees, and now this cold,” he added.
But he believes many of those challenges will be resolved in the next few days as the temperatures begin to rise. The local weather forecast calls for warmer weather by this weekend, and temps in the 30s by early next week.
When skiing and sledding fans return to Snowstar in the coming days, Mr. Harper said they will notice a vast array of upgrades and improvements to the facility. Some of those upgrades include: new and more ski boots; a new online system to buy tickets; new music and speaker systems; new LED lighting in parking lot, office and lodge; and much more. Here are some of the other improvements made to Snowstar in the past couple of years:
- Online booking system with 80% of all tickets now purchased online for clients’ convenience.
- All lifts are operational and have passed third-party and State of Illinois inspection.
- Improvements to the lodge include new lighting, bathrooms, paint, new south entrance, new front entry deck and a new water well.
- Tube hill improvements include disco lights, private party deck, six firepits and more.
- Security improvements include a new camera system with a seven-day backup and more lighting.
- New equipment includes: new utility tractor, tub hill shaper, five ATVs and many other items.
- Retail space updates include renovated and expanded retail shop.
- Rental equipment upgrades include 200 new ski boots, 200 aluminum ski poles and a new barcode scanning system.
- Other improvements include: new light pole banners, new signage and more fire pits throughout the park.
Snowstar offers 15 skiing and snowboarding lanes, a 28-acre terrain park with more than 40 features, 11 snow tubing lanes, a state-of-the-art tune shop, gear rental and more. During the warm-weather months, the park also offers disc golf, paintball and other activities.
Located at 9500 126th St. W., Andalusia, Snowstar can be reached at (309) 798-2673 and is now accepting online reservations. For more information or reservations, visit www.skisnowstar.com.
