Local ski hill hopes to be fully open by end of Christmas break

It’s been a slow start to the ski season locally, but despite that, local ski resorts are staying optimistic. 

“I think we are about a week or two behind … Normally we like to open that first weekend in December, and this year we were able to open around the 11th on a limited basis, so we were very fortunate,” said John Ball, general manager, Snow Valley Resort.

“I think Mount St. Louis, Snow Valley and Horseshoe Valley did manage to get open. In this area - the traditional snow belt - we were pretty close to our target. If you ask me in May when we are going to open I would say the first weekend in December and that’s pretty close.”

Ball said Snow Valley’s snow making plan, which typically begins in late November,  involves covering the runs sufficiently so that if there is a warming trend after they start, they are able to keep the runs open.

“We have two chairs running now and five or six runs open now,” he said. “The start to the season is a little slower than we would have liked but we are hoping after this warming trend over Christmas, we will be able to open more (runs) and will be fully opened by the end of Christmas break.”

In terms of visitors, Ball admits they are seeing significantly less than they would have pre-COVID, noting the primary reason is that they are limiting the number of day passes available as part of their Ski Well, Be Well COVID protocols.

The facility is also managing the lift lines outside to ensure there is proper spacing and making masks mandatory for visitors when in the line or getting on a lift.

“The provincial government last year shut the province down on Boxing Day - it wasn’t just skiing. We didn’t open again until Feb. 16, 2021… so that was a huge impact for us, but I think that some of the science a year later is that outside and outside activities don’t seem to be as high of a risk … and that we are also managing it," Ball explained.

Inside their facilities, Ball added, they continue to follow all provincial and local health guidelines.

“We are just like a restaurant for the food and beverage areas, and in the boutique area, we are just like a retail establishment.”

For the non-skiers, Ball said the tube park is slated to open at noon on Boxing Day.

“They are on sale now and we haven’t even announced to anyone that we are going to be opening… that was decided at a meeting at 1:30 p.m. (on Dec. 23). We had a meeting with the snow makers and with the groomers. They’ve been grooming a lot to get the tube park ready.”

Getting the area ready for guests, he said, is a “massive undertaking”, adding there is about another 10 hours of snow making left, along with an additional 15 to 20 hours of work left to prepare.

“They’re all going to be in on Christmas Day to get it ready, but they said they’re pretty confident that we are going to have the tube park ready for noon.”

Ball said the Tube Park manager loaded the tickets on their website for Boxing Day, and even though it has not been publicized, they had already sold quite a few tickets.

Snow Valley is also hoping the weather will cooperate enough to allow them to open their 17 kilometres of snow shoe trails.

“That’s an activity you can do with a small family group and not even see people when you’re out on the trails," he said.

In the summertime, Ball said people often take it for granted because they are outside all of the time, and in the winter, it’s too easy to get caught up staying indoors, playing video games and watching Netflix.

“Getting outside is a fantastic thing, both physically and mentally to take a break from all of the restrictions we have in place,” he said. “I like to call it bringing a little bit of normalcy back into your life to be able to get outside and do some kind of recreational activity with your family.”