Mt Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort — Attraction in Groveland Township

Love the Mountain, great place for skiing and snowboarding. (snowboarding for me!) Currently due to COVID restrictions, the lodge is not open for sitting around and warming up in. However, you can still get hot food from the lodge and eat it outside in the very nice patio area that has heaters and fires for warmth. Lessons are available, both at group rates and one-on-one. Equipment rental is available, and the equipment itself is high-quality.

However, that brings us to the one issue with Mt. Holly; the customer service is pretty hit-or-miss.

Hit: The young person in ski shop (sophia?) was exceptionally helpful, knowledgeable, and patient while I tried on many different boots before I found the perfect pair. They also got me a free rental due to not having the right part in to fix my bindings.

Hit: The older woman at the ski shop was very nice, and was able to check in back and find the last pair of knee pads for me. Apparently many manufacturers have been canceling orders due to the pandemic, which explains why I have been having such a hard time finding gear despite canvassing several sports stores.

Miss: At the rental area I was ignored for several minutes while the teenagers behind the counter chatted among themselves. When I got my board and went out, it took me a few frustrating runs before it hit me the angles for the bindings were backwards, aka set for regular even though I marked goofy on the rental form. That was especially concerning, because as an inexperienced boarder, it would have been easy for me (or any other newbie) to just not realize it was set wrong and assuming any difficulty was their own fault for not riding well.

Hit/Miss: I've been twice now, and one lift attendant wasn't wearing his mask, and got in my personal space while I got on the the lift. The second lift attendant was wearing his mask, kept a respectful distance, and informed another rider they had to keep their mask on while in the lift line or they would not be...

So, it's a Midwest ski area. There is nothing here more challenging than a green run at a real mountain, except a couple of little side hits between the marked runs. That said, I was impressed by the variety and interest they've been able to create, considering what they have to work with.

But man, this place is just shockingly unsafe. I would not ever recommend beginners or young children ski here due to the risk of getting injured in a collision.

A large majority of the crowds here are completely out of control, skiing terrain above their ability level, with absolutely no situational awareness. The number of times I had to be responsible for avoiding collisions with people uphill of me was insane. I felt like I needed a rearview mirror! If you don't know how to ski defensively, you are in danger on this hill. Full stop.

Besides being completely uninterested in enforcing safe behavior, ski patrol were also up to some dangerous antics themselves. Twice in four hours, I saw them riding snowmobiles uphill through heavy skier traffic. No emergency in sight and no heavy equipment in tow... seems they just didn't feel like taking the time to ride a lift, which is a crazy reason to put people in that kind of danger. Given the average skill level people here have for avoiding downhill obstacles, seems...

The make a good effort. Wish they would give more options on passes. Weekdays only would be great. No family pass discount?

Updated for 2022- 3 rd year in a row having a pass here and likely my last. They do make a decent effort but on numerous occasions the grooming is just downright dangerous. Mix that with sticky snow and some ice its a disaster waiting to happen. Woodward is always decent but without areas that are skiable the lines build up. If you need someone to groom the thing Ill come out after close and fix it. Anomalies everywhere on a dark hill is a nightmare. Perhaps if your going to setup a race course go groom it when its done. Mt Brighton may be a dump but back in the day they would close for an hour to re-groom for PM tickets. Is that possible? Currently the best option is to show up first thing when they open but you have to be retired to get there at 10am and take advantage of it. Possibly grooming at close on the regular might help but it could be even worse if the grooming is poor as it has been the last two years. Im sure they dont care, they get there money anyway but a 1 hour break could drive business to all parts of...