The ski industry in North Dakota has experienced many “ups and downs.” Currently, there are three ski-areas in the state – Huff Hills near Mandan; Bottineau’s Winter Park; and Frost Fire near Walhalla.
In the 1970s, there were four other ski areas: Rolla View in Rolla; Sky-Line in Devils Lake; Grand Forks Villa Vista; and Minot’s Trestle Valley. Today’s Datebook tells the Trestle Valley story.
Two men from Minot believed the nearby hills would be suitable for skiing. Dudley Zimmerman, a local businessman, and Gary Leslie, Minot State University gymnastics coach, were the driving forces. In 1974 they formed a corporation to build the new ski-resort.
From an airplane, Dudley Zimmerman scouted the hills near Donnybrook and Sawyer, and then the Trestle Valley hills, near the railway bridge at Gassman Coulee west of Minot. Trestle Valley’s hills had 200 feet of elevation.
Leasing land from Jim Shaw, the corporation built a lodge with a big fireplace. They bought skis for the rental shop, snow-making machines, and ski-lifts – a T-Bar; a poma-lift; and rope-tows.
Trestle Valley Ski Area featured a Bunny-Hill for beginners, and eleven ski-runs, with cool names like “Sunnyside,” “Cat’s Meow,” “Red Baron,” and “Hot Dog.” Thus began a decade of winter fun.
However, it was a costly venture. Aside from the initial construction, there were electrical bills and payroll.
Weather, however, was the biggest problem. In 1978 a warm front melted all the snow within a week, draining the investors’ financial resources. As Gary Leslie said: “It was like watching thousands of dollars melt and run down the hill.”
The business floundered due to unseasonably warm winters. And on this date in 1986, newspaperman Gerry Gilmour wrote about the high-costs of operating North Dakota ski resorts, lamenting that Trestle Valley had closed in 1983.
Trestle Valley, five miles west of Minot, was an “expensive disappointment,” but, for the people who learned skiing as a lifetime sport, the joys of schussing down the slopes, carving out turns, and making cold-weather memories, it was absolutely worth it.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Steve Hoffbeck, MSUM History Department, and Karen E. Johnson, Minot State University History graduate.
Sources:
Gerry Gilmour, “If Hill Isn’t High Enough Just Built it Up for Skiers,” Bismarck Tribune, September 21, 1986, p. 27.
Karen E. Johnson, “Trestle Valley Ski Area,” April 22, 1996, Minot State University, “American Social-Cultural History from 1865” class.
“4 Seasons Recreation Area,” unpublished manuscript, 1974.
Interview with Dudley Zimmerman, by Karen E. Johnson, Minot, ND, February 5, 1996, notes in possession of Karen E. Johnson.
“Dudley Zimmerman (1937-2017),” obituary, Minot Daily News, September 16, 2017, minotdailynews.com, accessed July 29, 2020.
“Trestle Valley Provides Skiing From Novice to Expert,” Regina [Saskatchewan] Leader-Post, January 13, 1979, p. 79.
“There’s Plenty of Room for Fun in a North Dakota Winter,” advertisement, Saskatoon [Saskatchewan] Star-Phoenix, February 20, 1982, p. 10.
“Upper Midwest Ski Areas; North Dakota,” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, November 20, 1977, p. 2F.
“Good Times Roll in Old West Trail Country,” Queen City Mail [Spearfish, SD], December 30, 1981, p. 4.
“Gary Leslie,” Minot State University Hall of Fame,” https://msubeavers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/gary-leslie/106, accessed August 20, 2020.
