History of Swiss Valley
When Jim Wiseman Purchased what is now Swiss Valley back in 1968 the entire operation consisted of an old farmhouse and seven rope tows. The day before opening of his inaugural ski season, five of the seven rope tows were condemned. What humble beginnings.
Wiseman persevered, and today Swiss Valley is within an hour's drive of over one million people. Swiss Valley entices folks to come ski from all over southern Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, with 11 runs, a 225 vertical foot peak (Highest in Southwest Michigan) and seven lifts, including 2 quads and one triple.
As one of the first areas in the country to embrace Freestyle skiing, the resort has sponsored The Swiss Valley Extreme Team since 1975. Coach Mark Osborne has been hand fashioning jumps well before terrain parks were popular.
Over the years Swiss Valley has been a gateway to the wonderful winter sport of skiing for thousands of people. Some very notable people have made "French Fries & Pizza Pies" at Swiss. NFL hall of fame quarterback, Joe Montana learned to ski at Swiss Valley during his days at Notre Dame. Ski magazine editor-in-chief, Andy Bigford was Swiss Valleys director of racing during his teen years. And more recently skiers, like Zach Surdell who competed in the 2013 Junior Worlds as a Junior Olympic Aerialist and is training and residing with the Olympic Ski Team in Utah call Swiss Valley home. The late 90 ²s early 00 ²s saw the likes of Ryan McCullough, X-Games competitor and John Riopel, a number one ranked male under 18 was named to the US Freestyle Ski Team competing in aerials.
