Ski hills close earlier than planned because of unseasonably warm winter

KEWASKUM, Wis. (CBS 58) -- While most people are celebrating the sunshine, others say it's bad for business. Local ski hills in the area have closed for the season earlier than expected.

The slopes at Sunburst Ski Hill should look different this time of year.

“Wisconsin, they say you can have four seasons in one day. We’ve proved it through the wintertime this year, definitely," said Jason Wood, the General Manager of Sunburst Ski Hill. "It’s been very challenging, there’s no doubt about that.”

These days, the slopes resemble a ghost town.

“What were we going to do? We stayed open as late as we possibly could with the weather that was given to us and the snow that we had made," said Wood.

Wood says this time, mother nature just wasn’t in their favor. It’s the shortest run Sunburst has seen in recent years, all because of an unseasonably warm winter.

“70 degrees, you know, melts so very, very quickly," said Wood.

Sunburst isn't the only one. Many ski hills in the Milwaukee area are now closed for the season.

“Most of us geared up, we planned on going for almost another month and yeah, is there disappointment? Absolutely," said Wood. “I mean, we employ over 200 employees here and so closing early not only affects the business, it affects the family atmosphere here. It affects the other employees.”

While sunburst may look empty now, Wood says there were still plenty of memories made this winter. Sunburst Ski Hill is also preparing for some summer activities in the hopes that it brings business. 

“Everybody, we were still able to have people come out, they had fun, families had fun both tubing and skiing," said Wood.