The fun is all downhill at Wilmot Mountain
When it’s cold and snowy and you want to complain, pause and think. You live in the upper Midwest. By choice.
Make the most of the long winter months. Here’s a great suggestion from our visit to Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort, 11931 Fox River Road in Wilmot, Wisconsin. It’s about a half hour leisurely drive, located just north of the Illinois border.
Chuck Randles, Wilmot’s general manager, was our host. Originally from Rockford, Illinois, he looks the part of a ski resort operator. Bundled up warm. Bearded. Ruddy cheeks. Quick to smile. Knowledgeable in all things skiing. Loves to talk about his chosen profession.
Chuck has been with Vail Resorts – owner of Wilmot since 2016 – for 20 years, taking his current job in 2022. His prior experience with Vail reads like a skier’s dream.
“My mom grew up in Skokie and grew up skiing at Wilmot,” he told us. “I moved to Colorado after college and spent 16 years at Vail Mountain, Keystone Resort, then Park City, Utah, then out to Lake Tahoe, Calif., where I started my family. The opportunity to run Wilmot Mountain came up, and to continue to work in the ski industry and raise my son close to our extended family and friends.”
After all that experience at some of America’s premier ski resorts, Chuck has seen it all and clearly is proud of what Wilmot has to offer.
“Our instruction, our ski and ride school, I would argue holds a candle to places like Vail,” he said. “It’s a much more approachable price point, and it only takes a day. We hope that inspires people for a lifetime of skiing, whether that’s here locally or traveling about.”
Wilmot is big, which is the first thing one notices.
There are 25 trails rated by color – green, blue and black – which equates to beginner, intermediate and advanced. The vertical drop of about 200 feet, down undulating trails, poses plenty of challenges for skiers as they develop their skills.
And for beginners and youngsters there are two learning slopes – aptly nicknamed Bunny and Turtle. A broad conveyor called Magic Carpet keeps folks moving.
Good instruction is the key, and Chuck loves to talk about it.
“We’ve got a great team of instructors,” he said. “Adult lessons. Kid lessons. We have a team of people that are very passionate and professional, to help people have an enjoyable learning experience and have more fun faster.”
Lessons are built around both age and skill categories. Learning can begin as early as 3–4-year-olds along with adults. Whether one is a “never-ever” or more experienced, Wilmot offers group lessons or private lessons.
For kids ages 5-12 Chuck recommends Wilmot’s three-week lesson packages, in which children are paired up with the same group of instructors for all three weekly sessions. Each lesson lasts two and a half hours.
“That three weeks of consecutive instruction turbo-charges the learning process,” he said.
The early onset of winter with lots of snow and cold temperatures has given Wilmot a quick start. Even so, the operation still opens in phases, with full snowmaking equipment available for use as needed.
Early in January Wilmot’s terrific snow tubing facility will open, with multiple high-speed lanes beckoning thrill-seekers. It’s steep and it’s straight, with a reverse slope at the bottom to slow the tubes. Tubing does not require ski skills.
“All you need to know for tubing is how to slide down a hill,” Chuck joked.
Kids are welcome for tubing but must be at least 42 inches tall. (No such height restriction exists on ski slopes, though.)
The tubing area – adjacent to the ski slopes – also boasts a beautiful lodge built in 2012 to provide services.
Standing at the bottom peering up at the faster ski slopes prompted us to ask Chuck what he would say to someone who might like to try but has a bit of anxiety.
“Even before I would try to encourage you to try it, I’d say come on out here,” he said. “We’ve got our Ski Hill Grill. We’ve got our Main Lodge bar. Come on out here to grab a meal or a drink. There’s no entry fee to come onto the property. Talk to our ski and ride school. Ask questions.”
The indoor facilities are top-rank, with broad expanses of windows offering striking views of the skiers and lifts. Looking out at the fun, it’s hard not to feel the urge to boot up.
If so, the full-service resort offers it all – lift tickets, lessons, rental gear. It’s a big operation, with around 800 seasonal employees.
Wilmot is open for skiing and snowboarding from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. From the Saturday before Christmas to the Sunday after New Year’s, Wilmot will be open from 9-9.
For more information, including booking and special events, go to the website (wilmotmountain.com).
We found the place fascinating. Which led us to ask if, uh, older folks could still learn how to ski. The answer is yes. Instructors are skilled at assessing abilities.
“Especially if folks at that age are fit and healthy, even more if they do other sports like ice skating, roller blading, water skiing, skateboarding,” Chuck said. “If somebody is used to that sensation of gliding and sliding and balancing they’ll be a step ahead, but anybody can give it a try.”
Maybe we’ll stop inside first for a courage enhancer.
Stephanie Klett is the President and CEO of Visit Lake Geneva, and the former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. Her husband, Bill Barth, is the former Editor of the Beloit Daily News and a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame.
