Buck Hill is a ski hill located in Burnsville, Minnesota, a suburb south of Minneapolis. It is one of three alpine ski areas in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, along with Afton Alps and Hyland.
Buck Hill Ski Area in Burnsville, Minnesota.
Early Beginnings
Buck Hill opened 71 years ago in 1954 and offers ski, snowboard, and tubing trails. The ski area was started by Chuck Stone, who discovered the sport as a child recovering from polio, and had worked as a lift attendant at Suicide Six in Vermont. Returning to Minneapolis, he wanted to start a ski area, and went to the public library to search out viable topography.
The present ski area of Buck Hill was the tallest hill close to the Twin Cities, but was on private land, part of a remote farm owned by Grace Whittier. Stone and his girlfriend Nancy convinced Whittier to lease them the property, succeeding where previous wooers had failed, and the ski area began operating in 1954.
Key Features and Operations
Buck Hill faces east and overlooks adjacent Interstate 35, approximately fifteen miles (24 km) south of downtown Minneapolis. Owned by David and Corrine "Chip" Solner, the ski area is lighted for night skiing and operates three chairlifts (2 quads, 1 triple) and multiple surface tows.
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The base area consists of a parking lot and a short strip of lodges. In 1961 the Stones added snowmaking and a T-Bar. This put a whole new perspective on the business and the area was able to operate for at least four months in the winter. In the following years, more lifts and trails were added, as well as a new chalet and rental shop, and the Sports Bucket Restaurant was added in 1978. Today, Buck Hill offers 15 different runs to skiers and snowboarders of all abilities, as well as snow tubing. Buck has 11 lifts including 2 Quads and a Triple chairlift.
Buck Hill is still operated with the family in mind, offering a full range of skiing programs for the young and the young-at-heart.
The Legacy of Erich Sailer
Any ski racer’s memory of their first encounter with Erich Sailer is likely to be a flashback of an exuberant coach skiing alongside one of his athletes, yelling instructions during races. Some of Sailer’s unorthodox methodologies belie his impact on the sport in this country and impressively, he is still on the hill at the age of 93. Sailer’s name is synonymous with the tiny but mighty Buck Hill Ski area, located in a southern suburb of Minneapolis, MN.
He started at Buck Hill in 1969 and his impact on skiing in the Central Region was immediate. His program raised the bar, and his athletes almost immediately began to score results. Erich Sailer watched Jean-Claude Killy race that day. In fact, he probably helped to make it happen.
Buck Hill has produced a bevy of Olympic and World Cup athletes, including Cory Carlson, Kristina Koznick, Tasha Nelson and Lindsey Vonn, but Sailer’s impact goes far beyond producing great athletes. He was instrumental in building the foundation of midwestern ski racing. Sailer oversaw Buck Hill’s ski-racing program for more than four decades, until stepping down this season. He figures he’s coached some 25,000 young skiers, including Lindsey Vonn and other Olympians.
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He is sometimes called the Yoda of ski racing. Sailer was born in Telfs, Austria and he had his first introduction to ski racing in his mid-teens. He competed as part of the Austrian National Team in races such as the Hahnenkamm (where he finished third) and went on to work as an instructor in the famed St Anton ski school.
Erich Sailer founded summer ski camps at Mt. Hood in 1956.
Sailer came to North America in 1955 with $35 in his pocket and only knowing one English word…hamburger. He founded summer camps in Mt. Hood in 1956 and Red Lodge Montana in 1967, and he made summer ski camps at Mt. Alpine Racing. Prior to his summer camps, summer skiing was only available to a privileged few and Sailer changed the game when he made summer skiing available for many more.
But it was in 1967, in Red Lodge Montana where Sailer started a camp with Pepi Gramshammer, Anderl Molterer and Toni Spiess that impacted up to 700 kids a summer. The camp in Red Lodge had an Austrian flavor and imparted a vibe of a serious ski village of racers. Mt Hood and Red Lodge is where Sailer mentored both athletes and coaches that fanned out across the country to help build the sport. Listening to his former athletes, and the affection they have for a man who could be both demanding and fun, the sense of family and camaraderie brings emotion and joy years after they have left Minnesota and his program.
Notable Athletes
World Cup ski racers Kristina Koznick and Lindsey Vonn learned to ski and race at Buck Hill. Koznick, now retired from international competition, was a top slalom racer.
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Vonn (née Kildow) races in all five disciplines and is dominant in the speed events. She is among the best female ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012) and was the gold medalist in the downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She was also a double gold medalist in the speed events at the 2009 World Championships, taking the downhill and super-G.
Both were coached by Erich Sailer, an energetic octogenarian from Austria who has been Buck Hill's racing coach since 1969.
Pro Skiing Events
The ski area hosted the pro skiing tour in early February 1973 as part of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. It was raced in a head-to-head parallel format in elimination brackets for both giant slalom and slalom.
Hugo Nindl of Austria won both pro events at Buck Hill in January 1974.
Chairlift Chats and Future Developments
There’s something magical about a chairlift ride-the crisp winter air, the hum of the lift, and the perfect setting for great conversation. Buck Hill’s new video series, Chairlift Chats, brings viewers behind the scenes of the ski resort, giving them an inside look at the people who make it all happen.
Dave Solner, along with his wife Chip, took ownership of Buck Hill in 2018, continuing the legacy of the Stone family, who founded the resort in 1954. When asked about his favorite part of owning the resort, Dave didn’t hesitate: “It’s the culture in general."
For Dave, Buck Hill is more than just a place to ski. It’s a community hub where lifelong memories are made. And that extends beyond winter. “We’re expanding into the summer months now, sharing the facility with families and people throughout the region."
Celebrating its 70th anniversary, Buck Hill has come a long way since its founding in 1954. Under Dave’s leadership, the resort has undergone significant improvements, from investing in snowmaking infrastructure to installing new lifts.
As for what’s next, Dave has big plans. “We’ll always focus on growing the skiing and snowboarding community, but we’re also making Buck Hill a year-round destination.
Buck’s reputation as a quality ski area is known across the country. Our ski racing program is also nationally acclaimed.
Buck Hill's Impact on Minnesota Skiing
Buck Hill has one of the most robust and active programs in the country from youth racing all the way to adult beer leagues that include 1500 participants. Racing is part of the fabric of the ski area, and Sailer is responsible for such an engaged ski community. Many coaches had their start in Sailer’s summer camps and his coaching tree is extensive and far reaching.
Ski and Snowboard President Tiger Shaw says, “Erich has inspired so many and shown them the way."
Here, where there’s literally no room for error, she notes, skiing is serious business, and you can perfect your technique. “Don’t change the way you ski,” Sailer told her when she moved to the mountains. “You’re fast just the way you are.” It’s something she’s never forgotten. At the Olympics, or any other competition, she says, she continues to introduce herself the same way: “I am Lindsey, from Buck Hill.”
Sailer’s former associates at Buck Hill have been taking his ideas to other Minnesota ski areas for decades now, spreading his legacy and perhaps ensuring its survival. Of the camps still held at Mt. Hood in Oregon, three are associated with Minnesotans, including Tony Olin, who spent more than two decades working with Sailer at Buck Hill. He put Vonn through her paces. And now he’s developing dozens of potential champions at Afton Alps, near Hastings, a former mom-and-pop hill that has become the Midwest’s largest metro-area ski resort.
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