Man-made snow
Ski slope offers fun and jobs
Photo by Greg Sorber
By GREG SORBER
Kansan Staff Writer
The same mound that served as a lookout for scouts on the Oregon Trail now is used by travelers on skis.
Mont Bleu is a ski resort located just a few miles east of Lawrence. The tree-cleared course is 1,250 feet long with a 220 foot drop, said Rudy Voldrich, manager of the Mont Bleu ski lodge.
Boots secured to the skis . . .
From the top, he said, a skier can hit speeds up to 60 miles per hour before reaching the bottom.
Although the weather in Kansas is not always cooperative, nature is helped along by guns which produce real snow. The snow is made when the temperature falls below freezing and the humidity is 75 per cent or lower. The air guns shoot a fine mist of water which crystalizes into snow. Each of the 15 guns can pump 20 gallons per minute to cover the ski slope.
The Wakarusa River serves as the source of the millions of gallons of water needed each season to produce the snow. About five million gallons of water are pumped in ponds near the slopes. From the ponds, the water is then pumped through pipes to the air guns coming out as snow.
the slopes, during warm weather which occurs occasionally in a ski season, turn into mud. But if the temperature suddenly drops below freezing, the hill can be covered with snow during the night.
Mont Bleu is in its fifth year of operation. The first year saw more than 2,700 ski enthusiasts
Photo by Greg Sorber
...and we're ready to tackle the Kansas ski slope
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on the course. An expected 5,000 skiers are expected to have populated the hill by the end of this year's season. The season, Voldrich said, runs from late December to the first week of March. Next year he expects the season to start earlier, the first week of December or late November.
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On a good day, 250 skiers could be on the slope and Voldrich expects the number to double when the new T-bar lift is installed. The lift will allow skiers to sit on a cross bar and ride to the top of the mound. Skiers now grab a continuous rope pull which takes them half way up the course. Now, skiers use only the lower half of the slope.
Skiing in Kansas is unique and Voldrich said people from as far away as Oklahoma City have come to Mont Bleu. Most people, however, come from the Kansas City-Leavenworth-Topeka areas.
Voldrich said the resort also produces 20 to 30 part-time jobs for University of Kansas students. The student-employees work on the ski patrol, operate the tow rope, work in the rental shop, and some also teach beginning skiers.
There are many beginners, Voldrich said, including about 75 per cent of the skiers on the hill. He runs a ski school for beginners assisted by two KU students.
The Mont Bleu rental shop reportedly claims to carry more equipment than its counterparts at Colorado's major ski resorts. Mont Bleu has more than 500 complete sets of skis, boots and poles available to rent.
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Voldrich, a native of Czechoslovakia, was a Czech contender in the Olympics and later was a judge at the Squaw Valley winter Olympics in 1960.
Voldrich said if the resort continues to grow, new slopes and another lift might be added.
Although there have been a few
injuries on the course, none have occurred this year.
Why a ski resort in Kansas?
"We were living in Kansas."
Voldrich said, "It's a long drive to Colorado."
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