Welch Village Opens Early To The Delight Of Snow Enthusiasts

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Almost all the metro-area ski hills are open for business this weekend, including Welch Village, which is celebrating its big season opener Saturday.

Peter Zotalis is the president and general manager of Welch Village, and he lives for the chairs to start running, and getting all these people back on his slopes.

"It's opening day. This is awesome," Zotalis said. "There's so much work that goes into a ski season. We work all summer long, all fall long to get it going, and it's a mad scramble. It's worth it, there's nothing like it."

There is nothing quite like opening day on the hill -- just ask the skier and snowboarders.

"It's a thing for me. I love to be out here first day," said snowboarder Adam Dose. "This is just one of my passions."

Steve Waller feels the same way. He couldn't wait to clip into his skies.

"You just can't pass up the opportunity. I got and email [that] said they're open this weekend. I said I'm in, no doubt about it," Waller said.

It is an early start for Welch Village, which normally opens around Thanksgiving weekend. But skiers aren't complaining about the extra time on the slopes.

"It's just a perfect place to come on a winter's day, which, on November 17? Who would've guessed?" Waller said.

So if you want to find winter this fall, just head to the ski hill.

"There just nothing like when, you know, opening day when winter comes back," Zotalis said.