Just as the ski season begins, and northern Wisconsin is blanketed with its first big snowfall, a decades-old ski resort is reorganizing its business under bankruptcy protection.
Whitecap Mountains Resort, in Upson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 19. In court filings, the resort, owned and operated by Midwest Skiing Company LLC, cited low snow totals that significantly impacted revenues.
The filing aims to provide a path for the resort to continue operating as it reorganizes, the court papers stated.
The bankruptcy petition estimated the resort’s assets and liabilities both between $1 million and $10 million.
The ski area has billed itself as the snowiest ski resort in Wisconsin because of lake effect snow from nearby Lake Superior. This permits the resort to operate without a significant level of snowmaking equipment.
But snowfall has sharply declined in the past three years.
For the 2024-25 season, the resort got less than 60 inches of snow and generated $532,000 in revenue.
And in the 2023-2024 season, the resort received less than 30 inches of snow, generating revenues of $197,000. Conversely, in the 2022-23 season, the resort reported 260 inches of snow, bringing in $1.4 million in revenue.
Though Whitecap Mountains survived the 2023-24 season, it took out short-term financing from Brighton Asset Management LLC to meet the following year’s expenses.
Whitecap Mountains hoped to either extend or refinance the loan, but was unable to due to another slow season. Brighton Asset Management called in the loan to the tune of $1,860,000.
Midwest Skiing Company has been owned by David Dziuban since he acquired it in 2008. Dziuban has more than 20 years of experience in the ski and hospitality industry.
Before the bankruptcy filing, Midwest Skiing merged with Glebe Mountain Inc., also owned by Dziuban. The merger allows for a more efficient and less costly reorganization, the court papers said.
Founded in 1960, Whitecap offers year-round activities for family recreation, lodging, and events. But winter sports primarily drive the resort’s revenue.
Whitecap is located in Iron County in northwest Wisconsin, and operates on three mountains with 43 trails spread over 400 acres.
A woman who answered the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s phone call to the resort on Nov. 26 said Whitecap wasn’t open yet, but to check back after Thanksgiving Day.
The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan reported that as of midday Nov. 26, the Upson area has received well over a foot of snow.
“Looking good,” meteorologist Mark Gehring said of the ski conditions. “They are in the perfect spot with a foot of snow.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Whitecap Mountains Ski Resort files for bankruptcy amid declining snowfall
Reporting by La Risa R. Lynch, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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