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In the unlikeliest of places, a ski and snowboard park is on a good run thanks to community support that includes a North Dakota electric cooperative.
In one of the nation’s flattest states, Cavalier Rural Electric Cooperative, based in Langdon, has supported Frost Fire Park with pass-through federal economic development funds, pole and lighting repairs and other complex tasks.
Frost Fire is a winter sports haven located about five miles from the Canadian border and the only place for decent skiing for hundreds of miles around.
It’s also a beloved local fixture with a lot of potential to spark economic growth.
“I’ve lived here all my life, so it’s second nature to me,” says Marty Tetrault, who’s worked at the 1,600- member co-op since he was 14 years old. “If you were ever able to see it in person, it’s kind of a hidden gem.”
The park’s energy-intensive snowmaking equipment also accounts for a significant portion of the co-op’s winter load.
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“It would definitely be a big hit for us to not have Frost Fire,” says Tetrault. “It’s a big part of our winter load, because we’re pretty much 100% agricultural.”
For nearly five decades, the park has helped drive tourism to the Pembina Gorge, a scenic river valley and recreation area. It draws visitors from three states and across the border in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
During the summer months, the park’s amphitheater stages musicals and mountain bikers zip down the rugged slopes.
While there aren’t official numbers available on the ski resort’s economic impact, the Pembina Gorge Foundation, which owns the park, places it somewhere around $1 million to $3 million.
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“We’re within a 200-mile radius of about 1.5 million people,” said Patrick Chaput, the foundation’s president. “It’s not the Rocky Mountains by any means, but it’s a critical recreational opportunity for the whole region.”
Cavalier REC has written a pass-through loan of $150,000 from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office to help Frost Fire pay for an electric chair lift in 2018. The co-op has also facilitated smaller amounts for maintenance and repairs, including installation of a new roof and heating system for the lodge, electric snow guns and a water system.
Frost Fire managed to have its most successful season ever in 2024-’25 thanks to supporters like Cavalier REC, who have stuck by the park during some thin times, said the park’s general manager, Patty Gorder.
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That includes a canceled season in 2022-23 after the snowmaking system gave out.
This ski season, which ended March 16, the park logged 8,000 skiers, compared to 7,000 the previous winter.
“That’s pretty fantastic,” Gorder says. “We’ve been through some uphill battles, and if we didn’t have the co-op’s support, I’m not quite sure where we’d be.”
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When the original owners put Frost Fire up for sale in 2017, residents and businesses came together to keep it going. Many Cavalier REC employees and directors learned to ski on “Frost Fire Mountain,” as they call it. And Tetrault recalls his younger days riding his motorcycle and four-wheeler up and down the gorge.
He and others take pride in Frost Fire and show it off when they can.
“It’s the first place that I bring out-of-towners to,” Tetrault says. “We’re driving north, and we’ll turn off the road, and all of a sudden, there’s a drop in the hill, and people say, ‘Whoa! Where did this come from?’”
