BRILLION, Wis. — Sean Becker and the staff at Ariens Nordic Center are busy day and night making and maintaining what has become a much sought-after commodity in Wisconsin—snow.

“We had one little bit of a warmup. We just had to kind of overproduce and lick our wounds and try to fill back in the areas that we lost,” he said. “After that, it’s been pretty cold, and it hasn’t been too hard for us to keep snow.”


What You Need To Know

  • Ariens Nordic Center has snow on roughly four kilometers of trail

  • The center serves both everyday athletes and those preparing for national and international competition and careers in cross country skiing and biathlon

  • A race scheduled for Rhinelander recently moved to Ariens because of a lack of snow in the Northwoods

Becker is the Director of Sport Operations at the center in Brillion.

The center serves both everyday athletes and those preparing for national and international competition and careers in cross country skiing and biathlon.

“We’re kind of the only game in town right now,” Becker said. “We’re seeing everybody that’s in this area or within driving range — with a day — coming out skiing here.”

(Spectrum News 1/Nathan Phelps)

Snow has been scarce in Wisconsin the past two winters, obliterating or limiting the opportunities to ski trails in many parts of the state.

A race scheduled for Rhinelander recently moved to Ariens because of a lack of snow in the Northwoods.

For UW-Green Bay Nordic Ski Team Coach Sam Myers, having a training center with predictable snow an hour away is a boon.

“Usually, we go to the Reforestation Camp out in Suamico. That just is not possible,” he said. “To be able to come here at Ariens and be able to get on snow, and know that it’s going to be good conditions and great for our training, is a nice peace of mind for me as the coach.”

(Spectrum News 1/Nathan Phelps)

Myers said consistent training on snow yields results on race days.

“Ultimately, we’re skiers. We love skiing,” he said. “It’s just more fun for us as well when we can ski late into the year, like March.”

Becker said all the work pays off when he and the staff see skiers making the rounds on the roughly four kilometers of snowy trails.

“I want to see cold. I wouldn’t mind a little natural snow. I don’t mind cold temperatures, it allows us to make the snow that we need and allows us to keep it,” he said. “We can produce whatever kind of event we need to do here as long as we keep the temps cold, keep the rain away and keep the warm temps away.”