At Afton Alps, the beginning of a base layer of snow has begun appearing.

“Watching the weather, daily for us,” General Manager Trevor Maring says.   

After a warm November, the ski resort along the St. Croix River isn’t waiting any longer.

Staffers there activated the giant snow machines early Wednesday, for the first time this season.

“We don’t get too worried,” Maring declares. “We have an incredibly powerful snow-making system, we have an incredible team here, and we just wait for Mother Nature to cooperate.”

He says the magic number to begin making snow is 27 degrees — what he calls, ‘the wet ball temperature.’

Maring says the best conditions for making artificial snow also include little wind and low humidity, with temperatures in the teens — the colder, the better.

Despite the lack of snowfall from nature, he says he’s optimistic about the coming season — and the numbers give him good reason.

“From 2018 to 2022, the wages for ski facilities employees have grown 50%,” notes Carson Gorecki, a labor market analyst with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

He says the state’s 23 skiing facilities provided 2,778 jobs for the first quarter of this year.

Following a pandemic dip, it’s the highest number in a decade.

“To me, that indicates there’s high demand for those workers,” Gorecki explains. “This industry, ski facilities, has bounced back pretty well, and has actually surpassed in numbers in terms of jobs.”

The Minnesota Ski Areas Association says the total economic impact for the 2021-22 season adds up to $380 million.

The group says there were more than 1.4 million visitors during the 2022-23 season.

Fast-forward to the present day and Maring is hoping for colder weather — and yes, some snow.  

He says he wants Afton Alps to open sooner than later.  

“We want to be open, and we’re going to be open as soon as we possibly can,” Maring says. “So, we’re just waiting for nature to cooperate, which is coming our way.”