Swiss Valley Stands Tall In Region

Swiss Valley, tucked away in southwest Michigan, has a long storied history that a lot of Heartland skiers. The area may not be thought of as "ski country" like the northern portion of the Wolverine State, but don't let that fool you. It has the highest vertical drop in that corner of the state and some well known people have come through the area over the last 50 years. NFL Hall of Fame member Joe Montana learned to ski here during his days at Notre Dame, and former SKI Magazine editor Andy Bigford was director of racing during his teen years. More recently X-Games competitor Ryan McCullough and U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member John Riopel honed their freestyle moves here as teens. Swiss Valley has been sponsoring a Freestyle Extreme Team for over 30 years, long before terrain parks were even popular.