Frigid Cold Closes Minnesota Ski Area
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's not unusual for people who love to ski to brave frigid temperatures and hit the slopes.
That is, if the slopes are open.
It was so cold Sunday in Duluth that operators of Spirit Mountain closed up shop. Some ski areas are shutting down their lifts early, before the sun goes down and it gets even colder.
Those conditions would put skiers more at risk for hypothermia and frostbite.
Mount Kato general manager Jeff Putrah said his place doesn't shut down too often because of the weather.
"About the only time we close is if we're in a bad rainstorm, or if the winds get to be too outrageously strong that we risk issues with our lifts," said Putrah, who noted that it was two below zero when Mount Kato opened Sunday morning.
For the most part, skiers are very careful to dress properly in bone-chilling weather.
"We, you'd like to think so, but you never know," said Putrah. "Sometimes you have to, you know, help them out a little bit. But we have very few issues with the cold and our guests."
Putrah said an early closing time is considered only if there's no one there to ski.
"Sometimes they leave a little earlier on a cold night," he said