Local ski resorts hope to open soon with snowmaking. Meanwhile, practice kayaking in pool.

Freezing temperatures each night this week give area ski resorts the chance to make snow in the wee, dark hours. Swiss Valley Ski & Snowboard Area in Jones and Timber Ridge Ski Area near Kalamazoo are already at it.

Swiss Valley planned to pause it this past Tuesday, then return to snowmaking Wednesday.

This gives them a fighting chance to perhaps finally open for the season. When? We’d only be guessing at this point. Managers would love to open this weekend (Jan. 6-7), but we’ll have to stay tuned to see if the weather and snow guns can cooperate to open at least some of their runs in time. Any opening would be on limited terrain, Mike Panich, one of Swiss Valley’s managers, says.

Their snow guns ran and built snow piles in mid-December, but thawed temperatures since then have likely turned the piles into ice. Swiss Valley is eager for the public to enjoy this year’s upgrades, such as more growth for its snowmaking capacities and more tweaks to its building interiors.

The mountain camera at Bittersweet Ski Resort near Kalamazoo showed mostly grass on the slopes between snow patches. It had opened for a few days around Thanksgiving.

Cannonsburg Ski Area north of Grand Rapids awaits reopening, too.

In Cadillac, Caberfae Peaks was open through all of Christmas week. Its own photos show snaking white runs down the otherwise brown hillsides, thanks to snowmaking and grooming. That comes after a loss of electricity early in December when the resort urged and finally got their utility company to solve the issue by replacing almost five miles of electrical lines and nearly 40 utility poles.

Downhill resorts north of there are also open and running, thanks to snowmaking.

The oddly un-snowy start to winter has prevailed even in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which normally can boast of its snow at this time of year.

Do your snow dances.

Pool kayaking

This Sunday, Jan. 7, begins the annual series of indoor pool kayak sessions where you can learn or practice whitewater skills alongside experienced paddlers. This is a great warm-up for both seasoned paddlers and newcomers to whitewater kayaking.

The East Race Whitewater Kayak Club hosts these sessions from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. on certain Sundays through the winter in the pool at Concord High School, 59117 Minuteman Way in Elkhart. Enter door No. 21, which is the main entrance and leads to the pool.

Experienced members can tutor you on maneuvers like rolling the kayak or whatever skill you’re trying to refine. Or maybe you’re just trying to get used to your new boat.

You’ll need to bring your own kayak (sea kayaks are welcome, too, but canoes aren’t). If you need to borrow one, reach out and ask ahead of time. Fluid Fun, the canoe and kayak store in Bristol, will be at the sessions and can provide boats. Contact Ron Zimmerman from the store at ron@ronzimmerman.com or the pool session coordinator Mark Kraus at mpkraus57@yahoo.com.

If you bring your own boat, you’ll need to be pretty persnickety about cleaning it inside and out — any dirt, debris, mice, whatever — before you come. If there are float bags, remove those to reach trapped corners. In the past, organizers have recommended cleaning it at a self-serve car wash and using pails of water to rinse the inside multiple times.

This is critical to keeping the pool clean.

The session dates are Jan. 7 and 14, Feb. 4 and 18, and March 3 and 10. You must contact Mark Kraus at mpkraus57@yahoo.com to let him know you’re coming.

A donation of $10 per person and $15 per family will cover pool rental (if you bring a friend, they’ll be considered “family”).

East Bank Trail bridge closed

In recent months, you may have noticed that the East Bank Trail’s bridge over Leeper Avenue in South Bend has been closed. A city spokeswoman says the bridge’s deck needs to be repaired. As of December, the city was beginning the design phase, which will determine when the work will finish and when the bridge will reopen.

You can detour via the sidewalk along Indiana 933, which you can reach via North Shore Drive and via steps just northwest of Indiana 933.

When the bridge closed in 2021: Trails grow as one closes: Coal Line, East Bank, Pumpkinvine and Erie

Déjà vu, right? The same bridge had closed in October 2021 after a contractor’s truck had crashed into a metal support beam, and it reopened a year later after repairs finished.

Dunes nature club

The Dunes Learning Center has started Nat’s Nature Club for families to explore and learn about nature in the Indiana Dunes National Park, where the center is nestled.

It’s named for the center's mascot, Nat the Nature Nut, who shows up at a lot of the center’s events. There will be seasonal meetings and access to an exclusive website with other outdoor family activities that can be done in your own backyards. There will be three seasonal club adventures (the first one will be in mid-January), plus an overnight experience in the park.

Registration for each event will cost $5 per event and $25 for the overnighter. Register for the club at duneslearningcenter.org/nat.

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Swiss Valley and Michigan ski resorts hope to open with snowmaking