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BELLAIRE - With a blast of snow and cold sweeping through Michigan last week, Shanty Creek is slated to open its slopes Thanksgiving day for the first time since 2005.

"We've got so much snow up here,"Director of Snowsports Steve Kershner said Friday. "It was one degree below zero at Schuss this morning."

Besides having a lot of natural snow falling on the slopes, the cold temperatures enable the resort to make more snow, according to Kershner.

Shanty Creek is opening for its 39th year.

"The first 20 years we were probably open on Thanksgiving every single year,"Kershner said. "And the last 20 we're probably one year in five. And to open with this much snow, with really good conditions, that certainly is rare."

And there's more good news for local skiers and snowboarders too. Besides the runs at Schuss Mountain, Summit will re-open its lifts this winter.

Summit was closed last winter due to construction and renovations to the hotel and conference center.

And though the economy is slowing, Jon Stultz, vice president of sales and marketing for the resort, has high hopes for the upcoming winter season.

"People are choosing to stay home, stay in Michigan. They're looking to drive to venues right now,"Stultz said. "People aren't taking the extravagant vacation this year where they're going off to Vail or other places around the earth. We're seeing an upswing in this type of business."

Stultz added he is hoping to see tourists from the Chicago area, noting there is a $1.8 million advertising blitz there to coax people to Michigan.

"The northern ski resorts are going to be prime benefactors of that,"Stultz said. "We'll be counting those zip code reservations to see how that effort does work."

Stultz said the resort wants to emphasize programs and deals for the local people too.

"We want the local populous to know we're here for them as well as to know we're here for people downstate,"he said. "This playground can be theirs too. We've got a lot to offer here at the top of the hill to our local residents."

Between Summit and Schuss, night skiing will be open five nights of the week, which is popular with locals, according to Kershner.

But whatever the economy does, the amount of snow and the weather may play the biggest role in how successful the resort is this winter, and Kershner says this week was a really good start.

"People are hesitant to book lodging and packages until something wintry happens, so having it happen early is really going to help,"Kershner said. "It won't be crazy busy on Thanksgiving, but it will convince people when they can come that it's going to be good."

After Thanksgiving weekend, the slopes will be closed during the week and open on the weekends until Friday, Dec. 12, when it will be open seven days a week until March.

"The diehards have been waiting since April to ski,"Kershner said. "But the big thing for any resort is the two weeks surrounding Christmas and the holidays. We'll be open and have excellent conditions."

Stultz added there will be improved cross county skiing at the resort this winter, with up to 30 kilometers of trails. He said volunteers with the White Pine Stampede will help to maintain them.

Hadley Robinson can be reached at hrobinson@michigannewspapers.com or by calling 231-533-8523.