Spirit Mountain celebrates 50th anniversary

With the support of local and state leaders, Spirit Mountain opened on December 20, 1974. The ski resort is celebrating 50 years with two days of festivities.

On Friday morning, there was a public program and reception to show appreciation for the community leadership behind Spirit Mountain. This included guest speakers, a display of historical photos, and a time capsule.

“Governor Wendell Anderson was the first person down the slopes, so it was a big deal. We’re celebrating that, but what we’re celebrating is sort of the spirit behind that, which is that there were all of these community leaders, elected officials, business leaders, civic leaders, who got together behind this vision and did an awful lot of work to gather support at the federal level and the state level and the local level so that Spirit could be built,” explained Spirit Mountain Executive Director Ann Glumac.  “We want to honor that because I think it is all about making your community a better place, and those community leaders did that, and Spirit Mountain is the result.”

There was a staff reunion at Spirit Mountain later in the afternoon and there will be a 21+ party at 8 pm. The party will have live music, drawings, and fireworks. Glumac said that while Friday has been about showing appreciation for the last 50 years, Saturday’s focus will be celebrating those who will use Spirit Mountain in the next 50 years.

“I’ve talked to people who started skiing here when they were in their teens and then they brought their children and their children are now bringing their children. So we’ll have three and four generations of families skiing together. And I think that’s just a wonderful testament to what a community resource this has been,” said Glumac.

The events for Saturday are as follows:

• 10 am – 3 pm: KidZone will have a scavenger hunt, face-painting, and treats at the Skyline Chalet.
• 1 – 3 pm: Rail Jam will have prizes for best tricks, crowd favorite, and overall performance. The competition will be at Lone Oak Terrain Park at the Skyline Chalet.
• 10 am – 5 pm: Medallion Hunt will be a clues-based search for medallions outdoors at Spirit Mountain.