A bout of wacky weather Monday was a bit of a setback for area ski hills and trails, but officials are confident they’ll get back on track.
Freezing rain and strong wind forced Hardwood Ski and Bike to close its trails Monday. The trails remained closed Tuesday as groomers got to work. However, the venue was open for snowshoeing and fat biking. The goal is to have the trails reopened Wednesday.
“Obviously, closing trails is very difficult on a business like Hardwood. If the trails are closed, we lose revenue for the day,” said marketing co-ordinator Christine Sharpe.
“Also, because Hardwood has an extremely high standard of grooming, we lose out on our ski base. This requires additional snow for us to get pulled back up to our standard.”
Hardwood opened to the public Dec. 7, which was a little later than last year.
“We were in a unique situation this year,” Sharpe said. “With the chalet construction, there were definitely days we could have opened earlier in the season, but we didn't because of construction-area dangers, lack of bathrooms, etc. It delayed us far more than the weather.”
While unfavourable weather isn’t good for business, Hardwood is hopeful skiers will be back as soon as the trails are ready.
“We are a fairly positive bunch, so, yes, we think it will be a good year,” Sharpe said. “We have the new chalet, the brand-new Snowcat groomer tours, and all our usual programs and offerings like our Moonlight Snowshoe Fondues. If we can get some solid snow to support our skiers, we'll be golden.”
The delay in opening, she added, “caused a buildup of people wanting to ski, so the attendance — especially over the holiday weeks — has been good.”
The construction of a new chalet came about as a result of an electrical fire on Christmas Day in 2017 that shut the place down completely for a couple of weeks. Hardwood gained full occupancy of the new chalet on Dec. 14.
“Like any new build/move, there is still a lot to do until we're settled in properly, but for now, it's so nice to have everyone in the space,” Sharpe said. “Generally, the feedback has been positive. I think with anything new there is always going to be people who liked the old way better, but we feel that everyone will come around to the changes we've made. It's undeniably a more beautiful space, and we look forward to hosting events there and moving in fully.”
Horseshoe Resort had to close its cross-country trails Monday. The snow base and the downhill skiing weren’t too negatively affected by the weather, but a power outage put everything on hold for a few hours.
“We seem to be in a good pocket (of snow) today, so hopefully we can open those trails again soon,” marketing director Laura Kiley said Tuesday. “We can tolerate some bad weather because we’ve had such a good season so far and we still have a good base. It’s been an awesome holiday season so far.”
