Ski World closed, up for sale

"Hi, you've reached Ski World. We will not be opening this season, perhaps next. But this season no ..." the small ski resort's voicemail message says. Driving up to the slopes, all one can see is deserted land with a big "For Sale" sign at the entrance. No matter how hard one could try to knock on the main office door, no one will answer.\nIU students who once enjoyed skiing 30 minutes away in Nashville, Ind., at Ski World now must look to other places in Indiana to quench their skiing thirst.\nAll that is left of the spirit of Ski World are those that remember the slopes well, such as Britney Combs, former ski instructor at Ski World and president of the IU Ski and Snowboard Club.\nCombs is unsure of the reasons the resort closed but said rumors have been spreading since the closing.\nAccording to a previous Indiana Daily Student story, former owner Phyllis Riskey said the resort closed because the revenue that skiers brought in could not outweigh the high cost of insurance.\nCombs and fellow skiers at IU looking for a close place to ski now must travel to Paoli Peaks in Paoli, Ind., about 1 hour south of Bloomington, or Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Ind., about 2 hours and 30 minutes east, according to data available at www.mapquest.com.\nSophomore Neal Koral is an avid skier when he is home on the east coast, but since there aren't any close places to ski in Bloomington, he has not skied this year.\n"I haven't heard of any ski resorts here," Koral said. "If there was a closer place to ski, yeah, I definitely would."\nCombs said the IU Ski and Snowboard Club usually travels to Paoli Peaks because it is closer, but goes to Perfect North as well.\n"Paoli Peaks is closer and gives discounts to IU students who go there as a group," Combs said. "The IU Ski Club arranges carpool trips for members and each member gets a 'buy-one-get-one-free' discount from Paoli Peaks."\nCombs said the club, which has 135 members, took two recent trips to resorts.\n"We've just went to Paoli Peaks last Sunday and we skied from midnight to 5 a.m.," Combs said. "During winter break, we went to Copper Mountain in Colorado."\nCombs said she sees a bright future for the ski club with more trips and expansion of the club to come this season.\n"We are planning to go for a ski trip to either Aspen, Colo. or Jackson Hole, Wyo. during spring break," Combs said. "We plan to turn IU Ski Club into an outdoor club that will involve other outdoor activities like camping, canoeing, apart from skiing and snowboarding."\nFor more information on the IU Ski and Snowboard Club, visit www.indiana.edu/~snowski. For more information on Perfect North and Paoli Peaks, visit www.perfectnorth.com and www.paolipeaks.com.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Joyce Chan at mkchan@indiana.edu and Business Editor Lori Snow at losnow@indiana.edu.