Pembina Gorge Foundation Awarded $2.2m Grant For Improvements At Frost Fire Park

Gov. Doug Burgum announced that the Pembina Gorge Foundation has been awarded a nearly $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) for a snowmaking infrastructure improvement and expansion project at Frost Fire Park.

Burgum sent the EDA a letter last June in support of the grant application for the ski resort near Walhalla, N.D., noting the state had legislatively appropriated $1.65 million in funding over the last two biennia for infrastructure enhancements at Frost Fire.

“Frost Fire Park is a hidden gem in heart of the Pembina Gorge in the Rendezvous Region of northeastern North Dakota,” Burgum stated. “We are grateful for the work the Pembina Gorge Foundation has done to continue service and expand operations at Frost Fire. The improvements made in recent years, along with infrastructure work they plan to complete with EDA assistance, will better serve the people of North Dakota and help create healthy, vibrant communities in the region.”

Burgum expressed his gratitude to Red River Regional Council Executive Director Dawn Mandt and the North Dakota Department of Commerce and its Tourism Division for their work on the grant application.

Frost Fire started as a dream and has become a special place. Founders Richard “Dick” and Judith Johnson had a love for skiing and outdoor recreation and a vision of bringing people to the Pembina River Gorge; that led them to build a ski area and open it on December 26, 1976. It became a destination.

“Dick and I always dreamed to see the Walhalla area improved and commercially developed in such a way that it provides an enhanced recreational and trade area. Our vision was for the establishment of an orderly development, planned and zoned in a fashion which would protect and preserve the pristine wonder and beauty of the Pembina Gorge.” – Judith Johnson

The Johnsons had a passion for the arts, opening Frost Fire Summer Theatre in 1985. Now the theater regularly welcomes 5,000 guests from around the region during each theater season.

At one time, Frost Fire offered ski guests the choice of a double chair or a triple chair lift; those options were replaced when the Pembina Gorge Foundation installed a new SkyTrac quad-chair lift in 2018. Frost Fire has remained home to skiers and welcomed snowboarders when the sport gained popularity.

Richard passed away in March 2016. Judith was the sole owner of Frost Fire when she sold the property to The Pembina Gorge Foundation in 2016.

The Foundation is grateful to the legacy left by the Johnsons and are honored to improve Frost Fire and keep moving it forward.