By: Madison Bonin, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb. – In January of 2022 Pottawattamie county took ownership of the Mt. Crescent ski area located 15 miles northeast of Omaha. Reporter Madison Bonin took a trip to Mt. Crescent to see how the county’s first year of ownership is going.
With new owners comes new things and Mt. Crescent ski area is no stranger to that.
Under the county’s new ownership there have been many upgrades to the ski area including expanding the snow making pond, upgrading the electrical system and adding a bar in the lodge.
Pottawattamie county conservation promotions and outreach coordinator, Kylie Gumpert, said that they really wanted to prioritize experiences on the hill and it is already paying off.
“The community support and people who come out it has been overwhelmingly positive since the county took over this year,” said Gumpert.
With the addition of four new snow making machines for this ski season there is always a 100 percent chance of snow at Mt. Crescent.
Avid skier and season pass holder, Frank Forlini has been skiing at Mt. Crescent for the last 4 seasons and saw the improvements on the mountain first hand.
He says the addition of the new snowmaking machines and the larger snow making pond has made it possible to open the slopes on the south side of the mountain that haven’t been open in over 10 years.
He also believes that with the county’s new ownership the overall attitude at Mt. Crescent has changed for the better.
“The workers are a little more upbeat, they see the future as a little more bright and there’s a lot of opportunity for growth and changes on things that they want,” said Forlini.
While the final numbers haven’t been crunched yet since ski season isn’t quite over the managers at Mt. Crescent believe this is one of the busiest seasons on record, all thanks to the county.
Ski season will officially end at Mt. Crescent on Saturday March 11th, so you still have a few days to hit the slopes.
