Missi Boyd, director of Inside Operations at Hidden Valley, said she opened the Polar Plunge because other similar resorts throughout the nation had them. Hidden Valley is owned by Peak Resorts, a company that owns 12 ski areas across the nation, most of them with tubing hills.
“Almost all other Peak Resorts areas have them,” Boyd said. “So we decided to open one.”
Boyd said the hill has about a 24 percent incline and stretches about 1,200 feet in length.
“It’s really an above-average tubing hill,” Boyd said.
The Polar Plunge has had a lot of success since it opened on Monday, Jan. 3, Boyd said.
“Right now, we tube about 200 people an hour, which is good, but by the end of the year, we want that number to be around 400 people an hour,” Boyd said.
Boyd said she arrived at that number from the average number of tubers per hour at the other Peak Resorts areas.
Katryna Huth, senior and Hidden Valley employee, said she had a great time when she tubed.
“It’s super fun, and it’s way better at night,” Huth said.
The great part about Polar Plunge, Boyd said, is that everybody can do it.
“Everybody can plunge, not everybody wants to ski or snowboard,” Boyd said. “We see a big variety of people, and they all just want to come out here and have fun.”
From birthday parties to family reunions, Boyd said the Polar Plunge is a perfect place for people to come out with their friends and family and have a good time.
Boyd said she’s also glad because Polar Plunge gives kids another thing to do in the winter.
“We’re hoping to add something new for kids to do around here,” Boyd said. “It takes a lot of practice to ski or snowboard, and not everyone is looking to do that, but just about everyone can grab themselves a tube.”
Jack Appelbaum, junior, said he hasn’t gone tubing yet, but he wants to check it out.
“It sounds really fun,” Appelbaum said.
Austin Blaise, junior, said he’s excited to take a trip out to Hidden Valley to go tubing. Blaise said he’s glad there’s something to do out there other than ski or snowboard.
“A lot of my friends go out there because they snowboard, but I just started learning,” Blaise said. “Now I can go out there and not have to worry about learning how to do anything.”
Tubing costs $26 for two hours normally, but costs $30 for four hours on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.