I'm fascinated with defunct ski areas and the idea of skiing in obscure places. I started the Lost and Overlooked Ski Area series in 2018 but had not added to it in a while. Recently, I was thinking about my only cross-country car journey via Interstate 80 - the first time I realized there is indeed skiing in Nebraska. So, I do have more to add to the lost ski area story.Here is what I know about skiing in the Cornhusker State. If readers know more or have stories to tell, please leave them in the comments section of this post. (Account not required, you can post anonymously.)
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Sultry Sliding in Nebraska
December, 1995. My buddy and I loaded his blue Subaru Loyale and headed east from Laramie, Wyoming on Interstate 80. A shoebox full of bootleg Grateful Dead tapes and car snacks. Long shifts behind the wheel and minimal sleep. It was a road trip no different than any other, this one to visit family on the east coast during winter break.
As we left the Cowboy State and crossed into Nebraska, we began hearing radio ads for the ski area Nebraski. It must be around here we thought, in western Nebraska where the landscape rises to over 5,000 feet above sea level as it makes its way to Wyoming.
With vast seas of plains dominating the landscape and cold temperatures, I could picture cross-country skiing here. But downhill skiing? No way. This was in the days before the internet was everywhere and Smartphones were a thing of the distant future, so we couldn't look up "Skiing Nebraska" to get an instant answer. 
"Nebraski," the radio announcer said in a sultry, wispy voice as she tried to inject sex appeal into the ad. It wasn't clear what was sexy, skiing in general or more specifically, skiing in Nebraska.
"Nebraksi," she said again. Air whizzing through her lips like the whoosh of a skier down the slope. Fast, cool, sultry.
I imagined farmers in Carhartts and college students in jeans with big belt buckles sharing the slopes of Nebraski. A few teenage hotshots launched off of kickers and a bus full of middle school students on rented gear listened as their instructor coaxed them to "French fry" and "pizza pie."
Snow from hoses not the sky, night skiing, bravado, and toasts with watery beer during apres ski. I pictured a mellow scene with a lack of pretense; the way I like to think about skiing. I also pictured short runs and slow lifts. Ice and crowds. But the skiers didn't know these were bad things, all they knew was that they were having fun.
We heard these ads all the way across to Cornhusker State. How did we even find out things without the internet? Somehow, I always did, and I soon learned more about Nebraski. This may have been when my fascination with skiing in obscure places took root.
Over 25 years later we have the all-knowing internet to answer questions for us. With that in mind, here is the beta on Nebraska skiing, part history, part present day guide.
Nebraska Skiing
Nebraski, originally know as Trailridge, was located in western Nebraska on I-80 between Omaha (23 miles) and Lincoln (35 miles), just southwest of Gretna. (Source: https://gretnapubliclibrary.omeka.net/items/show/59) They opened in 1982 with five lifts, 20 skiable acres, and a 200 feet of elevation gain. I couldn't out when they closed.
Today, there are no ski areas operating in Nebraska. The Midwest Lost Ski area project has a page about Nebraska, and there are a few ski clubs that organize bus trips to Colorado for avid Nebraska skiers.
Mt. Crescent ski area, located 25 minutes from downtown Omaha in Honey Creek, Iowa, is the closest skiing for residents of the Cornhusker State. They are planning to open for the 2021-2022 ski season and adult season passes are $199-$299 depending on how early you buy them. Mt. Crescent has two lifts, 50 skiable acres, and 300 vertical feet. This 2019 article from the Well Traveled Nebraskan, provides a first-hand account of skiing Mt. Crescent.
Two other pieces about Nebraska skiing:
- Devils Nest was a ski resort with big ambitions that operated between 1972 and 1974. The lifts still stand, and this article has a bit of the story along with some stunning phones. The Midwest Lost Ski area project (website above) has a few links to more stories about Devils Nest.
- The folks at Treasured Heights, a group encouraging people to "get into their own local parks, to take skis to new places, and to become active in protecting our landscapes or ancestral homelands," skied the highest point in Nebraska and shared a story and video on their website.
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Lost & Overlooked Ski Area Series
- Bear Paw Snow Bowl, Montana http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2019/02/lost-overlooked-ski-areas-bear-paw.html
- Montenegro: http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2018/12/lost-overlooked-ski-areas-montenegro.html
- New Jersey: http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2018/11/lost-overlooked-ski-areas-new-jersey.html
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