By Matt Evans, Geoff Boller, and Gabe Peterson (Assisted by Randy Nelson)
This has been a winter where many of us have seen snow depths at levels greater than we can remember, but we only have 25% of the snow that has fallen in northern Michigan, where 200-300 inches every winter is common. The Michigan ’97 trip noticed this change in snow depth as we approached the Wisconsin-Michigan border. While Gabe was musing about the solitude of northern Wisconsin and deciding he would go crazy not seeing anyone for any period of time, Randy tried to explain something called the “lake effect” and tell us why this area gets so much snow — always trying to sneak in a lesson, even on Sunday!
Actually, the greater than usual amount of snow in central Minnesota and Wisconsin meant fewer tourists (snowmobilers and skiers) making the trek into the real snow country of mid-America. As a result, waiting to get on the lift was non-existent and the slopes were uncrowded. But as Randy mentioned more than once, this situation is not good for any area so dependent on the tourist dollar.
Randy had nine of us in the group; Alan, Dan, Dave, Andy, Geoff, Gabe, Ryan, Scott, and Matt. It marked the first time the transition from skiers to snow boarders was complete, with even novices in the group choosing to snowboard instead of ski. Besides snowboarding, as a group we liked all those things that don’t remind us of school. However, Randy kept presenting activities which reminded us of school. One of the activities was doing a cultural study on the town of Bessemer, Michigan. It was not the most enjoyable lesson since most of the people we interviewed were elderly (Randy claims there is a high percentage of retirees here) and not high school age.
We had typical winter weather with snow a couple days and nights, sub-zero temps at night and high teens during the day, and great snow conditions. Randy always made us evaluate the places and talk about the factors which influence our impressions. Well, our impressions of Michigan are quite favorable, especially if you like to snow board. We would recommend this trip to anyone, and if the truth be known, Randy’s assignments and meetings are not all that bad.
