Chestnut Mountain Resort

By: Austin Reyhons

Located in Galena, Ill.,  Chesnut Mountain is a seemingly easy and worthwhile, two-hour drive down I-80 from Cedar Falls.

When it comes to the closest slopes around, Chestnut takes the win for me. The resort’s expanse is comparitively double the size of Sundown in overall size as well as length of runs.

It has many trails with varying difficulties ranging from a mere inclined plain to gnarly drops at nearly 45-degree slopes that catapult snowboarders and skiiers to break-neck speed.

During my evening and night at Chestnut,  the bitter Midwestern cold was unforgiveable. The sub zero temperatures made the snow crysalize into compact, slick conditions making the steeper runs sketchy to the unwary snowboarder.

Although, the snow did make for extremely fast and fun conditions at the terrain park. The snow allowed me to accelerate much quicker than usual, which made for an exhilerating terrain park experience. Jibbing, which is the use of rails, tables and other obstacles to slide accross,  was a  delight. The change in speed from the swift snow to the top of the jibs would catch me off-guard,  though.

My overall experience with Chestnut has always been and always will be a blast.