The fall season has arrived with all its grand palette of colors and once again, the students of Michigan Tech can get to feast their eyes in the miscellany of the changing colors across the valley.
Like last year, the Mont Ripley Ski Resort hosts chairlift rides from the peak of Mont Ripley towards the Portage Canal to give us a bird’s eye view of the magnificent waterbody and the hillside of the city of Houghton in juxtaposition. These chairlift rides will follow a long winding route, providing a glimpse of every possible shade and tint as the valley changes through in the upcoming weeks. Mont Ripley is across the Portage canal near the city of Hancock. The portage lift bridge, known for its unorthodox construction and a masterpiece of precision and meticulous design connects the two sister cities: Houghton and Hancock will be yet another eye-catcher as one rides the chairlifts.
Experience this vast array of fall colors right from the top of Mont Ripley, with your friends, as you defy gravity sitting high above the woodland below, with a picturesque scenery unfolding in yet, still, warm light through the cloudless skies.
“It’s a delight! And of course yes, I would be going on the tour this year too!” says Pranav Chaudhari, a master’s student at Michigan Tech who has been on the ride in the last fall.
Tara Bal, whose focus is on sugar maple health says, “This year the colors have changed quite early due to the trees being stressed out from the cold, wet summer.”
This event which began on September 29 will be continuing for the next two weekends of October. The next scheduled rides will be in the upcoming week October 13. A lot of families are reportedly booking for the tour, since the last week of September was the Open House weekend and the first week of October is Parents Weekend, where scores of proud parents turn up at Tech to visit their children who have finally settled down in the university after a month of fall semester.
The chairlift rides will be on Fridays from 3 p.m. until dusk and will run for an extended time on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. The tour involves some minimal fees of $5 per adult. Children 12 and under are free. The students of Michigan Tech carrying their Tech ID will get a special concession and will be able to ride for $4. These rides are weather dependent and severe weather anomalies may result in unannounced cancellation of some rides. For further details visit http://www.mtu.edu/mont-ripley/ or call (906) 487-2340.
