The County of Barrhead has a hidden gem.
Misty Ridge Ski Hill had its final day of skiing and snowboarding on April 3, and by all accounts it was a great year.
The County experienced huge amounts of snow this year. The side effect of all those inches was more visitors to Misty Ridge.
“I drilled through the snow the other day, and we still have a base of 18 inches at the close of the season. Most of this snow should still be here in May. It’s been a great year for snow, this is the best year I’ve ever seen it,” said hill manager, Greg Reschke.
Earlier in the year, the County tried to establish an economic recovery plan that involved Misty Ridge. The plan called for a partnership with two other ski hills in the area. Visitors who attended any two of the three hills could ski free at the third hill. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen delays the plan never got off the ground.
“It didn’t pan out. We didn’t receive the tickets or the special punch we were supposed to get. It’s a good plan, but we need to have everything in place by December or January for it to work well,” said Reschke.
February is traditionally one of the best months of the season for Misty Ridge, however, this year wasn’t as good due to mild weather.
“The rest of the year has been incredible. We had a lot of schools coming out this year. They’d come for two or three days, and then they’d bring their families later on. We are definitely going to surpass the 3,000 mark in terms of attendance,” said Reschke.
Despite the huge attendance numbers, many people in Barrhead and the surrounding areas still don’t know about Misty Ridge, he said.
“We had an incredible year, but I’m still surprised that people don’t know that we’re here. Some of the people that came with the schools admitted that they didn’t know the hill existed.
Hopefully that’ll change in time for next season,” said Reschke.
On the equipment front, Misty Ridge had a great year with the addition of new snowboards, skis and boots.
“We get our equipment straight from the manufacturer. We have a few more pieces of equipment to replace, but we’ll be on that for the start of next season,” said Reschke.
For more information on Misty Ridge visit the website at http://www.mistyridge.webs.com
