A small ski hill in Langlade County keeps it pretty simple.
Started in 1956, The Kettlebowl is five rope tows on a ski hill and cross-country ski trails on county forest land that’s open on the weekends.
It’s run by volunteers.
Dan Auner has been volunteering with the Kettlebowl Ski Hill pretty much from the time he was skiing at 8 years old.
“When I was very young my mother ‘voluntold’ us to help clean up after we were done skiing and we’ve been doing the same ever since,” said Auner.
The Kettlebowl Ski Hill and cross-country ski trails are located about 17 miles northeast of Antigo in Bryant.
Volunteers and the weather are what keep it going.
There’s no snowmaking.
It’s open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4:00. Lift tickets are $5 for kids and $10 for adults. Gear is available to rent.
Auner says it’s very community and family focused.
“We have, I believe, 5th generation people skiing there already from some of the founding people. That’s really unique. We have families from Wausau, Antigo, and the valley who have cottages up in the Pickerel/Pearson area come over and ski and cross-country ski there. Everybody looks out for everybody at this place. It’s just very family friendly,” said Auner.
Auner is hoping to be able to open the ski hill next weekend.
To do that, they could use a little more snow and some volunteers.
Auner says the recent ice and snow has brought down a lot of branches.
He’s looking for people to come out at 9:00 Saturday morning to trim and haul away debris.
“Hopefully we’ll be done in three hours. Depends on how many volunteers we get. Adults we’re asking if you have power equipment to bring a chainsaw,” said Auner. “I don’t know if we’ll need it, but we’re looking for chainsaws and pole saws. And we’re looking for younger people to help move and drag branches off the skill hill and cross-country trails.”
You can stay updated on the Kettlebowl Ski Hill by following them on Facebook.
