Nothing was going to stop Jacob Tessier and his family from enjoying a few days of skiing at Horseshoe Resort.
A couple of months ago, the Sarnia resident booked a Christmas vacation at The Inn at Horseshoe, north of Barrie. On Christmas Day, he cancelled it because the forecast called for rain.
A week later, on New Year’s Day, he called the resort back to check on conditions. When he heard there were a number of ski runs open, he packed up the family and they headed north.
“We came up Monday morning,” Tessier said. “We’ve been skiing the last two days and it’s been OK, actually.”
With 13 of 29 runs open and a base depth of 25 centimetres, the slopes aren’t in perfect condition, but they’re more than serviceable for those, like Tessier and his family, who want to get outside and have some winter fun, even if it means foregoing the challenging runs.
“We spent yesterday on the Bunny Hill and it was great, not too icy,” Tessier said. “Today, we’re going to try a couple of green runs.”
For Oakville’s Katherine Shantz, the less-than-ideal winter conditions are actually a good thing. She took her daughters, who are beginner skiers, to the resort specifically because they knew it wouldn’t be at capacity.
“One of my daughters has been skiing once before and the other one has never skied, so we thought this would be the best time to come,” Shantz said. “This has worked out really well. It’s not crowded and the temperature is perfect.”
According to Sarah Tyler, marketing manager at Horseshoe, the Tessier family is just one of many who have booked a holiday vacation at the resort. She said the hotel has been sold out a few nights over the Christmas break and guests have made the best of the unpredictable weather conditions.
“There’s lots to do here — from skiing, snowboarding and tubing to swimming and walking trails,” Tyler said. “As the temperatures are supposed to go down this week and next, we’ll be in really good shape in a couple of weeks.”
At Mount St. Louise Moonstone, a 15-minute drive north of Horseshoe on Highway 400, the parking lot was already half full at 9:30 on Wednesday morning.
Thirty-one of the resort’s 35 runs are open and there’s a solid base of between 25 and 55 centimetres.
Inside the chalet, the lineups for lift tickets were building and the rental equipment staff was busy outfitting folks with skis, poles and boots.
Steve Young isn’t surprised to see the hustle and bustle. He’s a coach with the Toronto Ski Club in the Collingwood area and he’s visiting the ski hill with 18 members of the club so they can get in some early season work.
“Pretty much everybody who actually skis knows Mount St. Louis is going to be making lots of snow, so this is the place to come if other places aren’t open,” Young said. “The conditions have been pretty good.”
The conditions Young refers to are a direct result of Mount St. Louis Moonstone’s commitment to making snow.
Having been in the business for years, the Huter family, which owns Mount St. Louis Moonstone, knows Mother Nature is going to need a helping hand and they’ve invested heavily in state-of-the-art snow-making technology.
“When the weather gets cold enough to make snow, we can turn it on and have great results in no time,” said Nick Huter. “The guys here have done a great job making snow and we’re pretty happy with where we are right now.”
Snow Valley Ski Resort, just north of Barrie, has five of 20 runs open with a 50-centimetre base.
Pamela Disera, director of the Snow Valley’s snow school, said the resort has some good conditions and will be able to improve them once the temperatures drop a bit, which is expected to happen over the next 14 days, according to Environment Canada.
“We’re hoping to make more snow over the next little while and if we can we will open more terrain and more runs,” Disera said.
Featuring a relatively small hill, Snow Valley has secured a reputation as a great place to learn how to ski or snowboard. Christmas break is when newcomers traditionally visit the resort, Disera said.
“We’re missing those people who are just starting out,” Disera said. “The beginners didn’t come this year because they didn’t know to follow us on social media or they don’t know we make snow.
“Let’s hope the season goes longer and we’re knee-deep in snow during March break.”
