The grassy grounds at Hidden Valley Ski Resort will soon be covered with snow. Not long ago they served a very different purpose - Hidden Valley was home to a golf course until a year ago.

"The best decision I made was getting into the ski business. I wasn't going to make any money in golf," Boyd said.

The ski resort is the only venue of its kind in the St. Louis area.

"I think the reason we do what we do is, competition-wise, no one wants to do it," Boyd said. "There are only two ski places in Missouri, and we have them both. It's like owning the only McDonald's in town."

Boyd, a former MU golfer, owns Hidden Valley and Snow Creek, north of Kansas City. So, how does a golfer own two ski resorts in Missouri and nine others across the country?

"By the grace of God," Boyd said, "We joke we're snow farmers."

According to Boyd, the ski business and the golf business have a thing or two in common.

"The best advice I got was concentrate on snow making. It's all about service. They come for snow, not a nice building. It's like golf - if you don't have good greens, nobody is coming," he said.

Hidden Valley is Missouri's oldest ski resort, and it will open next month for its 26th season.

"We're not Vail or Aspen. We give people an alternative to spend a lot less money to find out if they like skiing before they make a big investment and head out west," Boyd said.

This year, Boyd wanted to expand his operations, but the City of Wildwood, where the resort is located, objected. But Boyd won the planning and zoning battle, and Hidden Valley will have more parking spaces and places for snow tubing next year.