A popular Midwestern ski resort has filed for bankruptcy to stay open.
What’s going on?
Wisconsin’s Whitecap Mountains Resort is in trouble “after back-to-back winters with ‘extremely low’ snowfall wiped out its revenue and left it buried in debt,” Business Insider reported.
Located in Upson and owned and operated by Midwest Skiing Co., the 400-acre property boasts 43 ski runs and has provided visitors with outdoor recreation opportunities for six and a half decades.
The 2023-24 winter, however, brought in less than 30 inches of snow and only $197,378 in revenue. The resort took out a loan, but the 2024-25 season — with less than 60 inches of snow and $532,639 in revenue — didn’t generate enough business to cover it, and lender Brighton Asset Management came calling. In response to a foreclosure and sale decision set for December 2, Whitecap Mountains filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with Brighton owed $1.9 million.
In 2022-23, when there was 260 inches of snow, the resort made $1.4 million. “Whitecap Mountain annually receives some of the highest snowfall in the state which makes for excellent conditions and regular powder days,” according to a court filing. “The Debtor has been dubbed by publications as the snowiest ski resort in Wisconsin.”
Why is this important?
The ski industry is in jeopardy because of rising global temperatures, and “Wisconsin winters are getting warmer and wetter,” WXPR reported. Since 1950, average low temperatures have exceeded 6-9 degrees Fahrenheit in northern Wisconsin. Upson is located about 15 miles from the Michigan border and Lake Superior.
“Those first fall freezes are coming later, and then those last spring freezes are coming earlier,” Amanda Latham, climate outreach specialist for the Wisconsin State Bureau of Climatology, told the public radio station. “That’s squishing winter on both ends, and that trend is expected to continue.”
The changing climate is also causing increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather events, including heavy rains and long, intense droughts. Hurricanes, as another example, are getting stronger. This stresses communities and governments and threatens livelihoods. Ski resorts are adapting by making snow, but it is not always possible to keep operations going.
What is being done about Whitecap Mountains Resort?
Attorney Nick Kerkman told Business Insider that the resort will remain open, and Midwest Skiing has teamed up with Glebe Mountains to cut costs. An approval hearing for the bankruptcy petition is set for January 20, per WXPR.
“The debtor chose to file to preserve its business for the benefit of all employees, customers, and creditors,” Kerkman said. “The debtor is already in communication with its largest secured creditor and hopes to present a consensual plan before the New Year.”
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