Construction underway on Great Bear Ski Valley s new $1.4M chair lift
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Great Bear Ski Valley is a step closer to its new chair lift after wrapping up a three-week project disassembling its 40-year-old predecessor earlier this spring.
The Sioux Falls Planning and Development Services Department on May 4 issued a building permit valued at $1,379,000 for the construction of the new lift was issued to SkyTrac Services Inc., the Utah-based project contractor.
The entire project is expected to run $1.8 million, according to Great Bear General Manager Dan Grider.
The city of Sioux Falls, which owns the the winter recreation park, is covering about $1.6 million of project costs with its third-party manager, Great Bear Managing Inc., covering the difference.
Outdoor Winter Activities Interrupted by Warm Weather
This week the Sioux Falls area will see a rise in temperatures and for January that means we need to be extra cautious and patient.
The city outdoor ice rinks opened just over a week ago just in time for Frosty Frolics and now with above normal temperatures this week, expected to be in the mid to upper 40 s, you may be waiting to put those blades on again.
Great Bear Ski Valley has enjoyed great numbers since opening in late December, which was one of the warmest in memory and the past few days has seen long waiting lines as crowds of skiers, snowboarders, and tubers hit the slopes. Dan Grider of Great Bear tells Dakota News Now, “Tubing has been in high demand. On weekends we run sessions, three sessions a day we’ve been selling all those out. We’ve been running out of rental equipment and we’ve been at capacity now for about two weeks.”